


FL9

by PC_PsyD



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/F, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:34:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28488399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PC_PsyD/pseuds/PC_PsyD
Summary: This is Lalisa Manoban's story. You are Lalisa Manoban. This is your story. /AUORSecret agents going to college, what could go wrong?
Relationships: Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé
Comments: 22
Kudos: 39





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all, this is a story I've been thinking about for a very long time. I hope you'll enjoy it!  
> P.S. English is not my first language. All mistakes are mine.

You leaned further into your seat and crossed your legs under the table. You brought the book you were reading closer to your face, eyes lingering on every single word written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his masterpiece _The Great Gatsby_. You gently turned the page and leaned forward in your seat, grabbing your cup of French Vanilla. The strong yet appeasing scent of vanilla invaded your nostrils and brought over you a sense of warmth and inner peace. You finished the drink and put it back on the table. You then leaned back and enjoyed the last few sentences of the book.

You finally reached the last sentence of the novel and caught yourself silently mouthing its every word, captivated by the amount of truth it carried.

‘So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’

You sighed and slowly closed the book. You let it rest on your lap and looked around.

You were at a Tim Hortons in downtown Montreal, Canada. Your hometown.

You had spent the entire evening there, reading your book. The clock on the wall indicated that it was already way past midnight. You looked around and counted a total of four people in the restaurant. There were two Tim Hortons workers, a man wearing a suit, and you. You watched the workers bring out a dozen of freshly baked donuts and put them onto the racks. You then shifted your gaze toward the suited man sitting by one of the exits. He was reading the newspaper. The same newspaper he had started six hours prior.

 _Something is off_ , you thought.

You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket.

_Time to go._

You gathered your things and put your backpack on. You made sure to walk through the exit furthest from the suited man, throwing your cup in the trash on the way out.

You stepped out of the Tim Hortons and were immediately embraced by the cool breeze of this spring night. You started walking toward the closest metro station and heard a sound behind you as you crossed the intersection. You looked over your shoulder and noticed that the suited man had left as well. He was heading in the same direction as you.

You made eye contact. You looked away.

The wind picked up. You shivered.

You picked up the pace.

You finally reached the metro station and pushed through the heavy metal doors. You were halfway down the stairs when you heard hurried footsteps behind you.

When you reached the underground level, you quickly took out your metro card and swiped it next to the turnstile before walking through it. You turned to your left, went down more stairs, and reached the metro platform. You walk to one of the extremities and waited for the metro to arrive.

A few seconds later, you heard someone breathe heavily to your right and you glanced in that direction.

There was the suited man, standing on the platform a few meters away from you, out of breath.

You looked around. You were the only two people on the platform.

The metro passed by you quickly, messing up your hair. You kept your eyes on the man.

The metro breaks screeched. The doors opened at once.

Through different doors, the you both stepped onto the same wagon. You were the only ones in the wagon.

You sat facing away from the man. Ahead of you was a window and you could see the man’s reflection in it.

He was looking at you.

The doors closed at once and the metro kicked back before moving forward.

You kept staring at the man’s reflection.

He kept staring at you.

The wagon was soon immersed in darkness and you watched the man’s reflection grow in size as he walked toward you.

You held your breath.

He was directly behind you a second later. He brought his arms over your head. You saw a thread between his hands.

_Garrote wire._

You quickly ducked your head, reached a hand out, grabbed the wire, pulled hard on it. The pull gave you the momentum to swiftly get off your seat and stand facing the man.

The man fell forward, neck resting on the seat.

You elbowed the back of the man’s head.

You heard his neck break. You _felt_ his neck break.

You then pulled out your phone and read the text message one of your teammates had sent you.

**Message received from DJ @ 12:43am:**

In the system. Do your thing.

You replied to him.

**Message sent to DJ @ 12:57am:**

A McGill-Peel

You examined the corpse to find anything that would link the man to a gang or to an organisation. Your phone buzzed again and the metro slowed down.

**Message received from DJ @12:59am:**

Doors will open in 3 sec

You stopped your examination as the doors opened and jumped off the wagon into the tunnel. You made your way back to the previous station and pushed through the sign that read: ‘Interdiction de franchir cette barrière sous peine d’une amende.’

You slowly went up the stairs and out of the metro. You then headed home. The FL9 building.

This is you.

Lalisa Manoban.

Secret agent.

***

You had just put on a blazer and tightened a tie around your neck when you heard a knock behind you. “Come in,” you said. You glanced over your shoulder and saw Agent Jennie Kim walk up to you. She was wearing a black dress, black gloves, and knee-high black socks.

“Let me help you?” she offered and adjusted your collar. “There,” she pulled away. “Are you ready, Lalisa?”

“I will join you in a minute, Jennie,” you told her and she left. You looked at your reflection in the mirror one last time, pulling down the sleeves of your blazer. You were also dressed in black, wearing black pants, a black button-up shirt, a black blazer, and a black tie. Your hair was tied in a high ponytail, bangs resting just above your eyes. Your face was makeup-free, skin looking clear and fair.

You turned around and grabbed the bouquet of pink roses from your bed. You stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room. There were the agents you had handpicked yourself to be your subordinates a few years ago. You were their mentor and you were meant to train them. They were the FL9 Agents Jennie Kim, Ike Newton, and Donghae Jung. Theoretically, they were your subordinates, but in practice, they were your teammates. You considered them your equals. However, you assumed your leadership role whenever important decisions had to be made. Jennie and Donghae were of South Korean descent, whereas Ike was of African descent. They were all slender yet muscular, looking elegant, dressed in black.

“Shall we?” you asked and they nodded. You left the apartment. 

***

Your team finally made it to the cemetery where one of your colleagues’ funerals were held. You were amongst the last groups to arrive. Standing around the black coffin were approximately fifty FL9 agents. The president of the FL9 enterprise, Sir Thomas Rutherford, eventually arrived and the ceremony began.

After the ceremony ended, you quietly walked to another tombstone and crouched down in front of it.

‘Erika Maynard’ was the name engraved on the tombstone.

You laid down the bouquet of pink roses.

“It has been a while Erika, has it not?” you said sadly.

Memories then flashed in your mind. Memories of when you met. Memories of when you played together during your childhood. Memories of when you became roommates in your teenage years. Memories of when you faced hardships together at the FL9 Academy. And memories of when you shot her in order to graduate from the FL9 Academy and join the FL9 enterprise.

“Forever grateful,” you whispered and left, joining your teammates who were waiting for you near the entrance of the cemetery.

***

The same night, the FL9 enterprise was holding its annual gala. You changed outfits, putting on a golden dress and golden gloves. You put on makeup and grabbed a handbag before stepping out of your apartment.

You found yourself by the entrance of the show hall, bowing your head and making small talk with some of your colleagues as you waited on your teammates to arrive. They eventually did and you walked inside. There were hundreds of tables spread out throughout the room and a large stage at the back. Jennie, Ike, Donghae, and you sat in your assigned seats and waited patiently for the gala to begin. You smiled and bowed politely whenever a colleague waved at you. Light chatter could be heard in the background, voices blending in together.

You glanced at your teammates. They were chatting amongst themselves quietly. They had dressed up nicely and had great postures. _Good job, Lalisa_ , you praised yourself. You understood a long time ago that one's image mattered in the FL9 enterprise, and you had trained them well.

The lights eventually dimmed and the gala started.

***

The proceedings of the FL9 gala were the same every year. First, Sir Rutherford would give a great speech, with a glass of champagne in his hand. He would highlight the accomplishments of the many FL9 general departments. Amongst these were the IT, the pharmaceutics, and the field agents, such as yourself. Second, a dozen of children would be introduced as the new students of the FL9 Academy. They represented the new recruits of the FL9 enterprise. All they had to do was to 1) survive the many years of training and 2) graduate from the FL9 Academy. Everyone sitting in this room had been through it, albeit some of them had had it rougher than others. Lastly, the gala would end with the Governor General of Canada nominating a handful of agents to receive the Elizabeth Cross, the highest decoration within the Canadian honours system. Recipients of the Elizabeth Cross were praised for their work ethic and contribution to the FL9 mission, and they were granted a wish by the FL9 enterprise as a reward. 

You noticed that the gala was coming to an end when the Governor General of Canada stepped onto the stage. Jennie nudged you and you leaned toward her. “Who do you think will receive the crosses this year?” she whispered in your ear. You shrugged. You did not really care. She pointed at Ike, Donghae, and herself, “ _We_ think it’ll be you, Lalisa.”

You snorted. “I would not know what to wish for,” you replied.

“A shot at a normal life maybe?” she chuckled and pulled back.

 _That is not a bad idea_ , you thought.

“Now,” Sir Rutherford continued, “tradition obliges, the Governor General of Canada will name five individuals who have surpassed all expectations in their respective fields this past year. They will receive the Elizabeth Cross and be granted a wish by the FL9 enterprise. Governor General, the floor is yours.”

“Thank you, Sir Rutherford,” she said and proceeded to name a few of your colleagues. “Finally, I would like to call to the stage Agent Lalisa Manoban.”

_What?_

_No._

_It cannot be._

The show hall erupted in loud cheers as Jennie tapped your knee under the table.

You looked over at your teammates. They were excitedly inciting you to go to the stage. You slowly stood up. Next thing you knew, you were on the stage, receiving the Elizabeth Cross. You heard Sir Rutherford’s voice, but could not process what he was saying.

You were then invited off the stage and went back to your seat.

After the ceremony ended, hundreds of people congratulated you, shaking your hand enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, you remained dumbfounded.

 _There is no way this is happening._ You could not believe it.

***

The next morning, you were summoned in Sir Rutherford’s office with your teammates.

First, you talked about the man you had killed in the metro. The FL9 enterprise had done some digging and hypothesized that a group of people may be hunting down FL9 agents. It was also suggested that the colleague to whose funerals you had gone the day before had been killed by a member of that group. You were told to keep a low profile from then on.

Second, you were asked about your wish. You had thought about it the night before, unable to fall asleep. _What are 20-something-year-olds doing nowadays?_ you wondered. You then thought about being in a Tim Hortons and seeing countless of students tearing their hair out of their heads, looking exasperated. _They go to college!_ You had suggested the idea to Jennie, Ike, and Donghae, and they liked the idea.

“What will it be, Agent Manoban?” Sir Rutherford asked you.

“My wish is that Agents Kim, Newton, Jung, and I can go to college,” you answered.

Sir Rutherford seemed to think about it for a while. You remained calm. “Granted,” he decided. You felt relieved. “I know of a college hidden in the north of the province. It is an exclusive college that very few people know about. This way, your identities will remain relatively secret and you can be back in Montreal in less than a day whenever we need your assistance here.” He paused. “Have you ever heard of Gaylord University?”

***

They day you were heading off to college, you found yourself back in the cemetery, facing Erika’s grave. It was a warm and sunny August day. “I am going to college,” you told her. “I will be gone for some time. I do not know when I will be back.” You paused. “Forever grateful,” you sighed before turning around and going back to the FL9 building.

“The helicopter is here,” Sir Rutherford informed you. “We will communicate with you through the burner phones we packed in your respective suitcases. Have a safe trip,” he smiled.

“Thank you, Sir. Agents Kim, Newton, Jung. Let’s go,” you called for your teammates’ attention and took the elevator to the rooftop of the FL9 building.

You reached the rooftop and shielded your eyes for the blazing sun with your hand. The helicopter’s rotating wings blew your hair and clothes in all directions. You walked toward the helicopter and settled in. You put on your headset and tested the microphone. You saw the pilot give you a thumbs-up and buckled in. You looked around as your teammates settled in and noticed that your suitcases were already loaded.

Once everyone was done settling in, you heard the pilot’s voice in your headset. “Welcome aboard. The weather conditions are looking good for the duration of the flight, with a five percent probability of rain at the halfway point. We should arrive at Gaylord University around 1350.” Then the helicopter took off.

_Here we go… To college. To a normal life. To an easier life. To a better life._


	2. Week One: Halo Effect, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there. Fancy seeing you here.  
> I have a confession to make. I am a psychology nerd. I'm currently doing a PsyD and thriving. So I figured I could write about the many interesting things that I've learned these past five years and a half in college.  
> On that note, I hope you'll enjoy reading about the halo effect!

As planned, the helicopter landed on the rooftop of Gaylord University at 1350. About ten minutes ago, the campus came into view and Ike, Jennie, Donghae, and you were glued to the helicopter windows, staring at the view.

The main building was diamond-shaped and appeared to be made of glass. Windows covered most of its exterior surfaces, reflecting the sunlight onto the surrounding water. The light then bounced off the water, making it shine as if the water floor was covered with diamonds. A single bridge crossed the water and led to a vast green landscape. Behind the main building were soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, and hockey fields. A few smaller buildings were scattered around campus, including a greenhouse. Finally, surrounding the campus were a dense forest and mountains.

As the helicopter began its landing, you noticed that three other helicopters were parked on the rooftop of the main building. Each had a different flag drawn on its side. You noticed the flags were of Italy, Argentina, and South Korea.

After the helicopter landed, Ike, Jennie, Donghae, and you stepped off while the pilot unloaded your suitcases. You noticed that everyone was looking around excitedly, shouting at each other over the helicopter noises.

A group of eight similarly-dressed men and women simultaneously stepped out onto the rooftop and bowed in your general direction. They then synchronically separated themselves into groups of two, a pair of employees for each helicopter.

The woman approached you and pointed at your luggage. “May I?” she asked and you nodded. She grabbed two of the suitcases and started rolling them toward the door. The man gestured for your teammates and you to get closer and yelled, “We will be taking care of your luggage! Follow me!” He then turned around and you followed him. You looked over your shoulder at the FL9 helicopter pilot and nodded at him before disappearing inside the main building of Gaylord University. 

***

You followed the employees who led you to the main entrance on the first floor where a man was waiting, looking at his watch.

The man looked up and clapped his hands together when he saw your group. “Ah! Right on time!” the man exclaimed with a thick French accent. “You must be the Italian, Argentinian, South Korean, and Canadian first year students, the freshmen!” You all nodded in unison. “Superbe! My name is Louis and I will be your tour guide for the day. Before I forget, here are your dorm keys.” He handed you small envelops with your names on it. You opened yours and found a magnetic card inside. “Your dorm number is written on the card in case you forget it. It happens more often than you would think,” he said, stressing every consonant. He chuckled and opened his arms, looking around. “As you can see, we are currently in the main entrance of Gaylord Univers-”

You zoned him out and looked around.

The entrance was gigantic. The floors, the walls, and the countertops were all made of marble and there was a large red carpet on the floor. Immediately to your side were eight elevators. You walked a bit further and noticed a glass railing, giving view on the large windows of the building and the waterfront. You looked down and saw a beautiful garden surrounded by water fountains and small-sized buildings. You watched as a group of people went from one building to the next excitedly, shopping bags in hand.

The guide’s voice grew closer to you and you pulled away from the railing, knowing the other freshmen in your group would run to it. “The buildings here consist of pharmacies, stores, and restaurants. Considering that the closest village is miles away, we have to be somewhat self-sufficient. Therefore, you will be able to find anything you need and want in what we call ‘The Village of Gaylord University,’ or ‘The Village’ for short,” the tour guide explained. “Also, as you can se-”

“Oh my god! Is that Nigel Thomson?!” one of the Italian girls screamed, pointing somewhere over the glass railing.

“What?! Where?!” an Argentinian girl exclaimed, rushing to the railing. “I thought Nigel was being homeschooled?!” she yelled, looking back at the guide.

“Ah, oui,” he nodded. “Many people here are famous but want to keep a low profile while going to college,” the tour guide explained. “They will tell their fans and the paparazzi that they are being homeschooled, but they are actually secretly attending one of the Gaylord University campuses scattered around the globe, incognito. And, sometimes, they would either upload old pictures on their social media or go back to the real world to be taken pictures of, so no one would realize that they are gone. Take the K sisters for instance, or Nigel Thomson, or Roseanne Park.”

“Rosé goes here too?!” a South African girl screamed, looking shocked.

You knew none of those names, but you assumed they were famous people.

“You would be amazed at the number of people who have a double life here,” the guide said.

You looked over at Jennie and made eye contact. She raised an eyebrow and looked down, smirking.

 _Little does he know about our double life_ , you thought. _Not that he would ever know._

“Oh my god, I can’t wait to meet Rosie! She seems so kind and humble!” one of the Korean girls said.

“She’s so hot and confident,” an Italian boy added.

You made eye contact with your teammates, eyebrow raised, asking them silently if they knew of the K sisters, Nigel Thomson, or Roseanne Park. They shrugged.

The tour guide clapped his hands at once and proceeded with the tour. You visited five of the fifteen floors. On the first floor were the main entrance, the view on The Village, and two Olympic-sized pools. On the second floor were the gyms, boxing rings, and running tracks. On the third floor were ice rinks and movie theaters. On the fourth floor were show halls, ball rooms, and nightclubs. On the fifth floor was the spa, including massage chairs, saunas, and hot tubs. The floors six through fifteen consisted of the classrooms and laboratories. Finally, you were told that the dorms were located on each side of The Village and covered the floors one through fifteen.

Your group eventually found itself back to the main entrance. “All right. This ends our tour. I hope you enjoyed it and that you will enjoy your experience here, at Gaylord University. I will now let you go to your dorms, where your luggage is awaiting you. Also, do not forget about tonight’s opening ceremony! It will take place in show hall 4A,” the guide concluded and some people clapped their hands. He bowed and answered people’s questions.

You turned around and compared dorm rooms with your teammates. Jennie and you were on the same side of The Village, whereas Ike and Donghae were on the other side, across from you. Jennie was on the fifteenth floor whereas you were on the fourteenth. Ike was on the fifth floor whereas Donghae was on the fourth.

Jennie and you went to the elevators closest to you and waited as other people came in. You looked at each other and exchanged a knowing look.

_This is going to be promising._

You noticed that Jennie was struggling not to show her excitement. It was refreshing.

You stepped off on the fourteenth floor and walked to your dorm. You unlocked the door and stepped in.

“Yes! Right there, right there, right there!” you heard to your right. You slowly looked toward the person emitting the moans, noticing pieces of clothing scattered on the floor, and made eye contact with a naked girl riding a guy on the couch.

_Seriously…?_

You watched as she theatrically fell off of him, disappearing behind the back of the couch. “Oh my god, you pervert!” she screamed.

“Wha-” the guy muttered, clearly out of breath.

“No, not you! Her!” she yelled, reappearing into your field of vision, holding a shirt against her chest and pointing a finger at you.

 _What to do?_ you asked yourself. You had never found yourself in this kind of situation before.

You raised a hand. “Hey,” you greeted and pointed at yourself. “Lalisa Manoban. Your roommate.”

Your roommate threw clothes at the guy. “Get dressed,” she told him.

“You must be Jisoo Kim,” you said affirmatively, noticing that your luggage was near one of the closed doors in the hallway.

“Yeah. Kim Jisoo. I’m Korean. So last name goes first,” she told you pointedly. After the guy had put on his pants and stood up, she pushed him toward the door repeatedly until they were both gone.

You looked at the pieces of clothing on the floor and took a minute to wrap your head around what had just occurred.

You sighed and found your room, bringing your suitcases inside to unpack your belongings. Upon entering the room, you noticed a few nicely wrapped gifts on the bed. Notably, there were a brand-new MacBook Air, matching Bulgari rings and bracelets, and a Celine outfit. Among the gifts was a note that read ‘Welcome to Gaylord University, Miss Manoban.’

You unpacked your things and decided to wear the Celine outfit for tonight’s ceremony.

***

Among the sea of people gathering in the main entrance, you finally found Jennie, Ike, and Donghae. You then followed everyone to the show hall 4A where the opening ceremony was taking place.

About an hour later, you finally sat down and looked around. The show hall had gold-coloured walls and furniture, with red curtains covering the main stage. The room was buzzing loudly, with thousands of students chattering amongst themselves. The lights then dimmed and the crowd cheered.

The curtains were raised and a spotlight illuminated Celine Dion who was standing in the middle of the stage. Soon, the entire show hall was singing along with her.

You took a minute to focus on the present moment, on the here and now, feeling everything, hearing everything, seeing everything. Your senses were overwhelmed.

But you were feeling genuinely happy.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, I've uploaded Chapter 2 today. The next update will be on Jan 16th 2021.  
> And Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all the best for 2021!


	3. Week One: Halo Effect, Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy!  
> So, I didn't think I'd be updating today, but it turns out that I had a lot of time to write during the holidays. I've written ten chapters already, so I figured I could update once or twice today.  
> For the time being, I think I can update weekly. I may eventually update only once every two weeks after school has started again depending on my workload.  
> With that being said, here's Chapter 3.  
> Enjoy!

As Celine Dion’s held her last note, white lights flashed across the room and the ocean of students cheered. As the drummer hit the drums one last time, the crowd cheered and clapped louder, making the show hall buzz. You looked at Donghae behind you and exchanged a small nod. Then the room went completely dark for a second before the lights lit dimly.

 _I guess the show is over_ , you thought.

Suddenly, the cheers got even louder and you were pushed forward. You bumped into the students in front of you. You quickly got your balance back but kept being pushed forward. You looked to your left at Jennie. You caught her attention. She seemed just as surprised as you were. Her surprised expression then transformed into a smile. She shrugged and threw her arms up, head thrown back, joining in the cheers.

You looked back down to your feet, mindful of where you stepped as you were ushered forward. People kept pushing you in every direction. It was getting on your nerves. _What the fuck is going on?_

A deep voice then stood out from the crowd: “To! The! Club!” The person said it again and again, and it soon became a chant. People then started stomping their feet to the rhythm of the chant. “To the club! To the club!” was repeated over and over. You could feel the ground shake beneath your feet with every word. The chant was soon accompanied by bass drums and trumpets. _In what kind of world are we?_

You felt strong hands on your shoulders and heard Ike yell in your ear: “I guess we’re going to the club!” You shook your head, resigned, and followed the wave of people out of the show hall and into the club.

***

Getting into the club was an event in itself. You waited for what felt like two hours before you could even step in. When you finally walked in, you noticed that the club was already busy. People were dancing and bumping into you doing so. You heard a few faint, slurred apologies over the blaring music as you headed to the bar. You glared at a few of them and saw that they looked wasted as fuck. They were dancing with their heads thrown back, mouths opened, eyes closed, and drinks held up high in the air.

Jennie, Ike, Donghae, and you finally made it to the bar. As soon as you reached it, you felt like you could breathe easier. You inhaled deeply and regretted it.

Sweat. Alcohol. Perfume. _Not great._

“Do you want something?” Ike yelled in your ear. You shook your head ‘no’ and leaned your back against the bar, looking around. You couldn’t see much as the room was packed and dark, with colourful lights flashing left and right. However, you did notice that the people dancing right in front of you seemed to be enjoying themselves, kissing and grinding on each other like their lives depended on it. You shifted your gaze to the right and noticed a guy staring at the person standing to your left.

You knew that look.

That look was trouble.

You chanced a glance at the person next to you. It was a girl. You only caught a glimpse of her profile as she turned her face away from you. More people were gathering around the girl by the second. You looked back at the guy and saw that he was still gawking at her.

Then, in your peripheral vision, you noticed the girl leave.

The guy stepped forward and you diverted your gaze.

You turned around to face the barman and reached a hand out to him to catch his attention. You peaked over your shoulder and noticed that the girl had left her drink unattended. You couldn't see her nearby and noted that no one seemed to be watching over her drink.

You nudged Ike as you leaned over the bar to shout your order to the barman, who had gotten closer to you. “Rum and coke please!” you yelled and pulled back to look at the barman. He gave you a thumbs-up and turned around. You pushed yourself further from the bar and bumped into someone.

 _The guy_ , you assumed.

You didn’t acknowledge his presence as the barman came back quickly and handed you the drink. As you brought the drink to your lips, you saw the guy look around quickly and pull something out of his pocket. You pushed Ike more forcefully and, as expected, he pushed you back. You stumbled sideways, crashing onto the guy next to you. You exaggerated the theatrics and dragged a hand onto the bar, knocking off the girl’s drink onto the floor. You heard the glass shatter at the same time that you grabbed onto the guy’s shoulder to stabilize the both of you.

You pulled him in close and leaned in his ear to say: “If I ever see you try to drug someone again, I will fuck you up.” You pulled back and stared at him. He seemed caught off guard and harshly brushed your hand off his shoulder.

“Get the fuck off me! Stop talking shit!” he spat and walked away.

“Yah! Where’s my drink?!” you heard a girl yell. You noted that she had an Australian accent.

You kept your eyes on the guy.

You felt Jennie’s presence next to you. “Show him,” you said in her ear.

“Gladly,” she replied and took off after the guy. Your eyes followed her as she chased after him.

Ike walked in front of you to talk to the girl, arm extended. “Hey, I’m Ike,” you heard him say. You kept your eyes on Jennie. She had finally reached the guy and was talking to him. “It’s my bad! I was dancin-” Ike’s voice faded as your attention narrowed solely onto Jennie.

She grabbed the guy’s hand and led him closer to dancefloor. They started dancing together and you saw Jennie put his hands on her hips. The song changed and the club cheered as the new song came on.

The beat picked up and you watched Jennie’s talent unfold. Her dance partner suddenly stumbled backwards. She then grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled hard on it, crashing their heads together. The guy threw his head back, grabbing his face. He then suddenly fell backward and out of your sight.

The people around the duo seemed to notice the guy’s fall but quickly resumed their prior activities. You then saw Jennie crouch forward, arm extended. She helped him up to his feet and spoke in his ear. She pulled away from him and headed back your way, leaving him gaping behind her.

You kept staring at Jennie’s dancing partner and he eventually looked back at you. You raised your glass filled to the brim in his direction, chin raised, and took a sip. You watched as he turned around and walked toward the exit, pushing people aside.

Jennie finally reached your side and leaned in closer. “His name’s Jacob Bosh!” she informed you. You nodded at her and downed your drink.

“Let me get you another drink!” you heard Ike say to the girl next to you. “What’s your name?”

You emptied your drink and looked over at them. Ike’s body was preventing you from seeing the girl you had just helped. You were about to look away when her face suddenly appeared over his shoulder, speaking in his ear.

“Roseanne!” you read her lips. You looked up from her lips and your eyes met.

_Oh._

She smiled at you, eyes turning into crescents. “But you can call me Rosé!” you heard faintly over the music. Then, she disappeared behind Ike’s body.

You cleared your throat and looked away, heart fluttering.

_That was odd._

She had caught you off guard. You were _never_ caught off guard. 

You were surprised, but you were not sure what surprised you. You pulled at your collar and brushed it off.

You heard Ike’s voice as he replied to her and put your glass on the bar countertop. You felt like you had done enough for one day and pulled out your phone to message your teammates.

**Message sent to JK IN DJ @ 12:04am**

Leaving. Have fun tonight.

You put your phone back in your pocket and headed back to your dorm.

_It is the first day of class tomorrow,_ you remembered. 

To be completely honest, you were not sure what to expect. One thing was for certain though; nothing was going as expected thus far. And you were okay with that.

Before you fell asleep, the image of crescent, moon-like shaped eyes smiling at you crossed your mind.

_You are welcome, Roseanne._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guess that the girl they were helping was Rosé? The Australian accent probably gave it away...  
> Also, I completely forgot to mention it before, but if you want to get a visual representation of what Gaylord University looks like, including The Village, I recommend you Google the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center (the one in Washington D. C.). I've been there once and had an amazing time!  
> Finally, I'll be uploading the next chapter in a couple of minutes.  
> I promise that Chaelisa will be interacting in the next chapter. I think I've made you wait long enough.  
> See you soon!


	4. Week One: Halo Effect, Pt. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!  
> Here's Chapter 4!  
> Enjoy!

You were awakened by your 6:00am alarm clock. You turned it off and got out of bed. You put on sports clothes, and grabbed your phone and headphones. You opened your bedroom door and stopped dead in your tracks.

There was an unconscious girl lying on the floor right outside your room. By the looks of it, she was sleeping, snoring lightly.

_What..._

You peaked around the doorframe and noticed other bodies lying around your dorm, sleeping.

_…the fuck?_

You sniffed the air.

The dorm smelled of alcohol.

You sighed and gracefully stepped around the brown hair sprawled in front of you. You locked your door silently and expertly made your way out of the dorm without making a sound.

It was a piece of cake for you. Walking around in utter and complete silence was one of the first things you were thought at the Fleur de Lys Academy.

You then headed to the university gym for your routine morning workout.

***

After your workout session, you got back to your dorm and remembered the girls laying around everywhere. You quietly unlocked the door and, surely enough, everyone was still sleeping, sprawled around.

You looked at your phone. The clock read 7:24am. Your class was at 8:30am.

You quickly grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and brought some clothes from your room to the bathroom. You took a quick shower and stepped out of the bathroom, squeezing your wet hair with a towel. You heard a noise coming from the kitchen and were too curious to resist the urge to find out what was going on there.

 _It_ is _my dorm. I can go wherever I want_ , you rationalized.

You rounded the corner and saw the silhouette of a girl by the stove holding a spatula. You stepped further into the kitchen and there stood-

_Roseanne._

_The girl from last night._

Your breath caught in your throat, and you froze in place.

You took a few seconds to study her from afar.

Her feet were hidden in some fluffy pink slippers. She was wearing rose gold pyjama pants with a matching short-sleeved top. The letters YSL were embroidered on the sleeve of her pyjama shirt. Her pale, lavender-dyed hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Her skin looked fair and even. You could see she had soft facial features, prominent cheekbones, and plump lips. And for some reasons, you thought that the few hair strands sticking out from her ponytail were mesmerizing.

You were stunned by her side profile.

Your lungs started to burn and you noticed you had stopped breathing altogether. Your hands were frozen in place, squeezing your hair tightly, and your mouth was slightly ajar. You loosened your grip on your hair and closed your mouth.

You cleared your throat.

“Oh my god!” Roseanne jumped and looked over at you, hand on her chest. Your eyes met and she smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you coming in,” she apologized.

_That was the point._

“No worries,” you replied and you suddenly felt out of place. In your own kitchen. You didn’t know what to do with yourself, what to say, and whether to stay or leave.

You were confused. And you were confused as to why you were confused.

 _Act normal, Lalisa_ , you thought.

Roseanne did not seem to notice your inner turmoil as she resumed her cooking and kept the conversation going. “You must be Lalisa Manoban, Jisoo’s new roommate,” she looked over at you and you nodded in confirmation. Your throat felt too dry to speak.

You kept squeezing your hair dry gently and sat down at the dining table a few meters away from the stove, studying her some more.

Roseanne flipped a pancake over and leaned against the counter, looking at you. “I’m Roseanne Park, but everyone calls me Rosé,” she introduced herself. “Jisoo is one of the best people I know, and she’s one of my best friends,” she continued.

 _How come Jisoo and Roseanne are not roommates?_ the thought crossed your mind.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Roseanne,” you replied. She cringed.

“Please, call me Rosé. Or Rosie. But not Roseanne. It reminds me of my dad whenever he’s upset at me for… whatever reason,” she chuckled and rolled her eyes.

You kept staring at her and nodded, feeling puzzled.

You did not expect Roseanne to be this… friendly? In the last 24 hours, you had heard her name more times than you could count and, even though you were not eavesdropping on other people’s conversation, they always seemed in awe of her solely by their intonation when they talked about her.

 _I guess I expected her to be… snobby?_ This thought suddenly made you realize that you may be prejudiced against celebrities, assuming they were snobby or cold simply because they were admired by others.

To be fair, in your line of work, the only celebrities you followed and hunted down were either murderers, human traffickers, or serial rapists. Or any combination of these.

You heard another chuckle and snapped out of your thoughts. “Anyways, I’m sorry for crashing at your place last night. We were all pretty wasted and we mindlessly followed Jisoo home. By the way, the girls laying around aren’t just some… random girls we brought over. They were all on the school’s volleyball team last year. Just like Jisoo and me.” She paused. “The tryouts are next Friday, if you’re interested,” she informed you and turned around. She removed the pancake from the pan and started a new one. You noticed there were a handful of pancakes stacked up on a plate next to her.

“For now, I will be focusing on school,” _and on acting like a normal 24-year-old college girl_ , “but I will keep that in mind,” you told her.

“That’s right!” she said enthusiastically, turning around to face you once more. “You’re probably in U0 or U1, right? A freshman?” she asked and you nodded.

“Yes, I am in U1,” you replied. She kept staring at you and her smile grew wider as more time passed. _Should I say something else?_ “I major in psychology,” you volunteered and she smiled widely, eyes turning into crescents.

“That’s nice. I know a few people majoring in psyc. They’re all rushing for their lives,” she laughed, “so good luck with _that_. I’m in U3. It’s already my last year here,” she pouted, pointing the spatula at herself, and turned around to check on the pancakes.

Before you could ask her what she majored in, a hungover-looking Jisoo entered the kitchen, dragging her feet. She walked in wearing sunglasses, hands covering her ears.

“Please,” Jisoo whispered, “shut the fuck up, girls. My head is pounding.”

Your eyebrows raised and you made eye contact with Roseanne. She giggled and patted Jisoo’s butt with the spatula as the latter walked toward the dining table, sitting across from you. “Sit down, Miss Drama Queen. And I’ll give you some pancakies,” Roseanne said happily.

As soon as Jisoo sat down, she groaned and bang her head on the table. You jumped in your seat. _That was unexpected._

A minute passed. She remained motionless.

_Is she okay?_

You glanced behind Jisoo’s motionless body and made eye contact with Roseanne, who looked just as confused as you. You looked back down at Jisoo as she slowly lifted her head from the table.

“Ow,” she whispered, rubbing her forehead. “I think I just gave myself a concussion,” she whined and pouted.

Roseanne burst out laughing and put a plate of pancakes in front of her. She pecked Jisoo’s forehead and continued laughing, returning to the stove. “You are quite the character Jisoo-unnie. Way to make a good first impression on your new roomie. Lisa, would you like some pancakes?” you heard Roseanne ask.

You grabbed your phone and noticed it was already 8:15am.

You had class in 15 minutes.

“Lalisa,” you snapped your head up and caught Roseanne staring at you. “Pancakes?” she pointed at the pan with the spatula.

“No, thanks. I should get going actually,” you said, standing up.

_Did she call me ‘Lisa?’_

“Your loss,” she said in a singsong voice as you walked past her. “Good luck with your first uni class. Which one is it by the way?”

“Social psychology,” you answered and quickly grabbed your backpack from your room before dashing to the door.

“Bye Lisa!” you heard Roseanne shout from the kitchen before you closed the door behind you.

_Okay, she definitely called me ‘Lisa.’_

You were starting to understand what the hype about Roseanne was. She seemed incredibly friendly and down-to-earth. She also appeared to be genuinely interested in people.

 _Everything about her seems perfect_ , you thought. _Does she have any flaws?_

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for Chapter 4. I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Waiting a whole week before posting these chapters was legit torture for me. So I waited until 12:01am today to post Chapter 3.  
> See you next Saturday, Jan 16th 2021, when I upload Chapter 5!


	5. Week One: Halo Effect, Pt. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's Chapter 5!  
> Enjoy!

After leaving your dorm, you speed-walked to the classroom and scanned the room. Almost every seat was taken, with the exception of two seats at the back. You made your way there and settled in. Someone sat down next to you as the professor entered the classroom. The teacher rushed to the front desk and quickly connected his computer to the system.

“Hello students. And welcome to PSYC215 Social Psychology,” he greeted at 8:30am sharp. He looked up from his computer screen and laughed. “Wow, rough night everyone?”

You looked at your classmates. Half of them were wearing shades; the other half were sprawled on their desk.

“Hey,” the girl next to you whispered breathily. Her breath stank.

You glanced at her and nodded. “Hi.”

“The name’s Sofia Pudelko. I think I slept over at yours last night,” she said, offering you her hand. You recognized her as the girl who had fallen asleep right outside your bedroom door. She had an olive-toned skin, brown hair, and clear blue eyes. She surprisingly did not seem _that_ hung over. She just reeked of alcohol.

“Lalisa Manoban,” you whispered back. You shook hands.

“Nice to meet you,” she smiled. “Hey, do you happen to have gum?” she asked you. You wished you did, but you did not. You shook your head and heard the girl say “Bummer” before she introduced herself to her other neighbour and asked them for gum. You brought your attention back to the teacher as he began the lecture.

“Today’s lecture will be pretty light. I’ll start off by introducing myself and we’ll go over the course syllabus. We’ll then jump right into the material and cover a few of the cognitive biases everyone has, regardless of their backgrounds and cultures. We’ll also see how these cognitive biases occur in your everyday life without you noticing. I hope that, by the end of this course, that is, within the next 15 weeks, you will take an interest in social psychology,” he said. “Let’s get started, shall we?” the teacher asked and proceeded with the three-hour lecture.

***

“Thank you all, and I'll see you next week,” the teacher concluded and the students around you started gathering their things.

 _Okay, that_ is _a very interesting_ class, you admitted. You felt like you had learned so much already and it had only been your first class of the semester.

“You know,” Sofia’s voice broke you out of your thoughts, “you’re very attractive, Lalisa.”

You made eye contact with her. A second passed.

You were not used to receiving compliments. The FL9 agents rarely complimented each other, let alone on their physical appearance.

After all, looking attractive did not get the job done. Skills did.

You did not know what to respond. “Thank you,” you settled for after a while. _Short and sweet._

“Want to exchange phone numbers? Maybe we can hang out and get to know each other later,” she suggested, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“No, thank you,” you replied and stood up. Her hand trailed down your arm and you noticed she was biting her lower lip. She stood up too.

“Don’t worry, you’ll change your mind,” she affirmed confidently. “You’ll see,” she winked and walked away.

You stood there, confused, watching her leave. _What...?_ Before she stepped out of the room, she looked over her shoulder and blew you a kiss.

You sighed and gathered your things. On the way back to your dorm, you thought about the different cognitive biases you had covered in today's lecture.

One of the cognitive biases particularly struck you: the halo effect. The halo effect was the common belief that attractive people possess a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance. According to research, these other qualities varied in predictable ways across different cultures. As such, individuals from more independent cultures would assume that an attractive person is also dominant and assertive, whereas individuals from more interdependent cultures would assume that this person is more generous and empathic.

For some reasons, this construct reminded you of Roseanne and of how people talked about her. The way people from different cultures described her seemed to illustrate this concept. _Kind and humble. Hot and confident._

You remembered you had yourself wondered if she had any flaws after meeting her this morning.

You were still not convinced she had any.

You unlocked your dorm and stepped in.

“Mind your own fucking business, Jisoo!” You recognized Roseanne’s voice. You then saw a pink feathery bra fly across the room. You followed it with your eyes and watched as it landed on Jisoo’s head.

Your roommate teared the bra from her face and yelled back at Roseanne. “Yah! How fucking dare you!” You closed the door silently behind you. “It _is_ my business, Roseanne Park! You can’t keep fooling around with Nigel when you don’t even like the guy! He still loves you, you know that, and you’re fucking hurting him! And who do you go crying to whenever you feel awful for breaking his heart over and over again, Rosé?! Me!”

You stood in the dorm entrance, motionless. The shouting match went on for a while. None of them seemed to have noticed your presence yet.

_What to do?_

You took out your phone and saw you had a few unread messages from Jennie, Ike, and Donghae. They had planned to meet up for lunch today. You replied to them, letting them know that you would be joining them soon.

You put your phone back in your pocket and watched as a ball of fluffy blue socks traveled from one end of the dorm to the other. “Roseanne fucking Park, will you please stop throwing clothes at me?!” Jisoo screamed as the socks bounced off her head.

“I wouldn’t have clothes to throw at you if you picked up after yourself, Kim fucking Jisoo!” Roseanne replied and threw a pair of purple panties at her.

 _I second that_ , you thought, remembering your first encounter with your roommate, clothes covering the floor. _I hope those panties are clean._

Roseanne seemed to have impeccable aim, always hitting Jisoo in the face with whatever piece of clothing she threw at her.

 _Now I understand why they are not roommates_ , you thought.

They kept screaming at each other, and you figured you could probably make it to your room unnoticed. After all, you had been standing in plain sight for 10 minutes and no one seemed to have noticed you.

You took three steps forward and something soft bounced off the side of your face.

_…did she just...?_

You stopped dead in your tracks and looked over at Roseanne slowly.

“Oh no,” she said quietly, hands covering her mouth.

The dorm grew silent. You could hear ringing in your ears from all the screaming that had just occurred.

“That’s enough,” you said in a deep, affirmative voice. “Jisoo, pick up your clothes. The next time I see a sock or a bra lying around, I’ll throw it away. Got it?” She gasped. “What are you even fighting about anyway?” you asked, looking back and forth between the girls.

They both started yelling at the same time, insulting and pointing at each other. Roseanne complained that Jisoo was not minding her own business and not being a supportive friend. Jisoo complained that she was trying to help Roseanne, even though the latter did not seem to realize that, and whined about being hit in the face with undergarments. You could relate to that last part.

You thought about it for a second and decided not to get yourself involved any further. _There is no way that would end well for me_ , you reasoned. “I see,” you replied, thoughtful, and headed to your room without another word.

You dropped your backpack and changed clothes before stepping out of your room. You looked toward the living room and your jaw dropped.

On the couch were Roseanne and Jisoo laughing their heads off. You closed your mouth shut and quietly walked out of the dorm.

_That is it. I do not understand college girls._

One thing was for certain though: Roseanne did have flaws. However, her aim was not one of them.

***

You eventually joined Jennie, Ike, and Donghae at the restaurant, and you all caught up. They told you about their roommates and their first lectures. They all seemed to be enjoying their current life, no matter how different and odd it was compared to your normal one, and it made you happy. You then told them about your day.

“Oh! Roseanne? As in Rosé Park?” Ike asked you, grinning widely after you mentioned her name. You nodded affirmatively. “She’s the girl we helped at the club last night. She’s also the girl we’ve been hearing about since we got here. Man, she’s gorgeous. And she seems very friendly too! She looks like the type of girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it, you know? I would like to get to know her more,” he sighed.

Jennie, Donghae, and you exchanged a surprised look.

“Well…” Jennie paused. “Someone has a crush,” she said, smirking.

“No. Not really. I mean... I don’t know. Maybe,” Ike responded.

 _That’s new._ Ever since you started working together three years ago, you had never talked about each other’s crushes. You had never had one yourself.

But Ike seemed happy. And you were going to support him.

“She told me the varsity volleyball team will be holding tryouts next week,” you informed them.

“Can I go?!” Jennie asked excitedly. You felt your teammates’ eyes on you.

You shrugged. “You’re free to do whatever you want here. In college, we are equals,” you told them. They cheered and drank to that.

***

The rest of the week went by uneventfully. You had Cognition on Tuesday, Introduction to Personality on Wednesday, Perception on Thursday, and Introduction to Psychoanalysis on Friday. At the dorm, you rarely saw Jisoo as she spent most of her time elsewhere. When you were both at the dorm, you both kept to yourselves. However, you did notice that she had started picking up after herself, which you were grateful for. Maybe the shouting match did have a positive outcome in the end.

_Thank you, Roseanne._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this (short) chapter.  
> This was the last part of Week 1. The next chapter will be the first part of Week 2.  
> I'm only updating one chapter today since uni has started again and I want to make sure I can update weekly throughout the semester.  
> The next update will be on Jan 23rd 2021!  
> See you then!  
> (P. S. Who's excited for The Show?! I got the plus membership a few days ago, and I can't wait to see the girls perform again!)


	6. Week Two: Big Five, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 6 as promised.  
> Enjoy!

Over the weekend, you did three main things: explore the main building of Gaylord University, read all of your assigned readings, and listen to Ike tell you everything he learned about Roseanne Park.

“I heard Roseanne’s the daughter of the Australian model and actress Clare Park.” “Apparently, her mother’s Australian and her father’s Canadian.” “Did I tell you Roseanne’s father was Canadian? My source got mixed up. It seems like he’s also Australian, like her mother.” “Did you know Roseanne’s the global ambassador for both Yves Saint Laurent and Tiffany and Co.? A global ambassador! How badass is that?!” “I found out Roseanne and Nigel Thomson, whoever he is, used to date. Apparently, he goes here too, and they still meet up sometimes to… you know,” Ike said one time, sounding significantly less enthusiastic than usual.

Donghae patted his back. “Maybe you should put yourself out there and try to get her to notice you,” he suggested. Ike looked over at you and you shrugged.

“Yeah… maybe I should. Yeah, maybe I will!” he exclaimed. “Nigel who?” he laughed to himself and fist-bumped Donghae.

You had forgotten that you knew about Roseanne and Nigel still being somewhat involved. You made a mental note to remember everything related to Roseanne from then on to keep Ike informed.

As a team leader, you did not keep secrets from your teammates. Except for one. But you decided then that you were not going to keep another one from them.

***

On Sunday night, you got back to your apartment and heard noise coming from the bathroom. It sounded like someone was vomiting.

You looked in the direction of the bathroom and noticed that the room was lit and the door ajar. You got closer and peaked inside. There was Jisoo, arms holding tightly onto the toilet bowl, body jerking violently as she puked. The room reeked of alcohol and vomit.

You stood outside the door for a while, unsure of what to do.

You two were not close. Far from that actually. You had interacted with her two or three times so far, and she would either be yelling or telling you to shut up. Still, you did not like seeing her in that state, eyes bloodshot with tear trails on her cheeks. You sighed and opened the door wider.

“Hey, there,” you said. You saw her crack an eye open to look at you before she quickly leaned over the toilet bowl, dry-heaving. You crouched down next to her, removed the hair from her face, and rubbed circles on her back. You noticed an open water bottle near the sink. You reached out to it and handed it to your roommate. She took it and hydrated herself.

You did not talk. You did not know what to say. You simply assisted her until she felt better. She eventually looked at you and smiled. You cocked your head to the side, confused as to why she would be smiling at a time like this.

“Turns out you’re not a bitch,” she said.

_What?_

“Have you been telling people that?” you asked her before you could stop yourself. You were wondering why she would even think that in the first place.

“No. But I could have been. You have a really good resting bitch face and you don’t talk a lot. So I just assumed you were a bitch. Glad to know you’re not though,” she replied, chuckling. “Wow, you must think I’m a mess,” she said. You shrugged. Ultimately, it did not matter what you thought. “I’m definitely not pregnant, if you were wondering,” she told you.

“I was not,” you replied.

“Good. I don’t need that rumour to go around campus again.” She signed. “Volleyball tryouts are this Friday. If I make the team again, I’ll have to follow very strict dietary rules, including a no alcohol consumption rule. Today was probably the last day I could drink for the rest of the year, so I decided to make the most of it,” she explained, unsolicitedly. “Actually, I may have made too much of it,” she corrected herself and burped. “Also, the second week of school is the worst. It’ll hit you like a train, I’m telling you.”

 _It cannot be that bad_ , you thought.

Shortly after, you helped Jisoo up to her feet and brought her painkillers for the headache she was bound to have the next morning.

You got ready for bed as well and set an alarm for 6:00am.

***

You were halfway through the second week of class and it was _hell_. Over the 180-minute lectures, you covered over 150 slides and were given over 100 pages to read for the following class.

_This is absurd._

You tuned in to the teacher as he concluded today’s Introduction to Personality lecture. “-herefore, using factor analysis, Costa and McCrae identified a five-factor model of personality, namely the Big Five personality traits, also known as the OCEAN model. The word ‘ocean’ serves as a mnemonic to help people remember what the five traits are. As such, the ‘O’ stands for openness to experience; ‘C’ for conscientiousness; ‘E’ for extraversion; ‘A’ for agreeableness; and ‘N’ for neuroticism. These traits are conceptualized as dimensional, rather than categorical. For instance, if we look at ‘E’ for extraversion, people can find themselves anywhere on the extraversion continuum, from being extraverts on one end, to ambiverts toward the middle, and introverts on the other end. All right! That’s it for today’s class and don’t forget to do the readings for next week’s lecture.”

On the last slide of today’s lecture was a link to an online personality assessment test. You made a mental note to have your teammates and yourself take it later on.

As you gathered your things, an image of Erika flashed in your mind and you smiled fondly. You definitely knew where she would fall on each of the personality traits.

***

_Your first memories were of the FL9 Academy. As far as you knew, you had been born and raised there. When you were eight years old, a new girl joined the academy. Her name was Erika Maynard. She had blond hair and blue eyes. She was your age and had a British accent. You spent a lot of time together, playing around, studying, growing up, and eventually became roommates when you were both thirteen years old._

_After being roommates with Erika for a few months, if you had to describe her in one word, it would be ‘chaotic.’ This girl was extremely curious. She had a thirst for knowledge and it got you both in trouble more than a handful of times, getting caught in the library way past your curfew. Her room was always a mess and you were picking up after her all the time. She kept on losing her belongings and you would always be finding them in the weirdest of places. She was a ball of energy, always running around, seeking new adventures, and being loud when you had to be quiet. She got along with everyone, even the people who were chastising her for her wrongdoings, who could not help but smile at her and letting her off the hook ‘this time and this time only.’ And her emotions would hit her like a whirlwind. When she was happy, she was ecstatic. When she was upset, she was distraught. She was an open book, always wearing her heart on her sleeve._

***

If you had to guess, Erika was high on ‘O,’ ‘E,’ ‘A,’ and ‘N,’ and low on ‘C.’

You were both so full of life back then. And now you were both… faded.

As these memories came to mind, the gunshot that changed both of your lives forever rang in your head.

The image of her body falling backward and the fear in her eyes were forever engraved in your memory.

“Yah, Lalisa!” Jisoo yelled, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You were back in your dorm, doing the reading for your Monday class. Since Sunday night, you and Jisoo had been interacting more and getting closer. It made you happy. “Did you hear me?” You made eye contact with her and shook your head ‘no.’ “I asked you if it was okay for Rosie and Sofia to come over for a study sesh tonight.” You nodded. “You’re welcome to join us if you want,” she informed you.

You were about to decline when you thought of Ike. “Sure. Actually, can Jennie, Ike, and Donghae join us?”

“Yes, of course. The more, the merrier,” she agreed and you texted your teammates.

You praised yourself for being a good wingwoman for Ike.

***

That evening, you had dinner with your teammates in The Village, and you came back together to your dorm to study with Jisoo, Roseanne, and Sofia. Ike seemed to be over the moon, practically bouncing on the way there.

When you entered your dorm, you noticed that the three girls were sitting at the kitchen table, actually studying.

For some reasons, that surprised you. You never really knew what to expect with them, but you were pleasantly surprised to find out that they could be focused and studious.

None of them seem to have noticed your presence yet. You eventually joined the girls at the table and let your teammates decide where to sit first. You then sat at the narrower side of the table, across from Jisoo.

Ike conveniently sat in the seat across from Roseanne’s. When he sat down, she looked up and smiled. Ike smiled back. Roseanne removed a headphone and greeted you all. “Hey, guys. I’m glad we get to study together,” she said.

“Same here,” Ike replied, maintaining eye contact with her. You looked over at Jennie and shared a knowing look.

 _So far so good. Smooth, Ike._

Jisoo and you made eye contact and waved at each other from afar. You were pulling out your laptop when the person to your left laid a hand on your forearm. “Fancy seeing you here,” you head Sofia say.

You looked over at her. “In my own dorm?”

She smirked. “Well… you were not coming after me. So I decided to go after you. A classic game of push and pull, my love,” she winked at you. You acted unbothered and resumed what you were doing.

She had not removed her hand from your forearm. She actually trailed her hand up to your shoulder and gave it a squeeze. And another. And another.

You were starting to get irritated.

“Sofia,” you said after you were all set to study. She looked up from her book, the cap of her highlighter held between her lips, looking innocently at you. Her lips curled upward and you could tell she was glad to get a reaction from you. “A word please?”

She blew the cap away and smirked. “Gladly. Am I in trouble, Miss Manoban?” she teased in a high-pitched voice. “I wouldn’t have thought you were into role play, Lisa,” she said in a playful tone, and you put your hand on her lower back.

You invited her into your room, and she sat on your bed, leaning back on her hands. “I have a feeling we are not on the same page, Sofia,” you told her, closing the door behind you. “I am not a very touchy-feely kind of person. I have never been. I will never be. I need my personal space. Do you understand?” You crossed your arms and leaned your back against the door.

Her face morphed from playful to serious, and she nodded.

You continued, “I understand that _you_ are a physically affectionate person. And I respect that. We are just different in that respect.” She nodded. “Now, where do we go from here?” She shrugged. “How about, every time I feel like it is too much for me, I say ‘boundaries’ and you tone it down?”

She seemed to think about it and nodded. “Sounds fair,” she said.

_Awesome._

You grabbed the door handle and turned around. “I have to say, you are quite perseverant,” you said and she smirked.

_Oh, no._

“I knew you liked it,” she stood up and winked at you. “Don’t worry, I’ll be more mindful of your personal space next time,” she told you.

“Thank you, Sofia.”

She stepped out of your room, and you followed her back into the kitchen.

When you sat down, you noticed that everyone was staring at you, and you felt like you had to say something.

“We just talked,” Sofia told them before you could say anything. You nodded. Jisoo and Roseanne seemed surprised. They looked at each other and shrugged.

Several times during the evening, you felt Roseanne’s eyes on you as you studied. You would look up, make eye contact with her, and you would both smile at each other before going back to work.

_What are you thinking about, Roseanne?_

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. I promise Chaelisa will be interacting more soon.  
> The next update will be on Saturday Jan 30th 2021 (right before The Show omg)!  
> See you then!


	7. Week Two: Big Five, Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wazup yo yo! *à la Rosé lip-synching Jennie*  
> This story has 12 kudos! That makes me really happy, especially since Chaelisa haven't interacted much yet (sorry about that; I'll make up for it though).  
> Here's chapter 7 as promised.  
> Disclaimer: the girls' sexual orientations are discussed in this chapter. This is purely fictional, as I'm not privy to that information.  
> Enjoy!

You had been studying for three hours straight when Roseanne interrupted the study session. “I can’t do this anymore!” she exclaimed dramatically, throwing her arms up and her head back. “I’ve been reading the same sentence over and over for the past ten minutes and I still don’t get it!” She brought her hands to her face, groaning.

“Yeah… I could use a break too,” Jisoo concurred. “I’ve just been staring at my screen for the past half-hour.”

You watched as Roseanne turned Jisoo’s computer toward her. “Yah!” Roseanne shouted. “You’ve been watching Netflix for the past 30 minutes?!”

Jisoo smirked and turned the computer back toward her.

“Let’s take a break then,” Ike concluded, smiling at Roseanne. She smiled back at him, and she looked at you. You shrugged.

You had finished your readings for both your Monday and your Tuesday classes. A break would not hurt you. “Sure,” you agreed.

“What do you usually do when you take a break?” Jennie asked, stretching her neck.

“We catch up, show each other videos of cute animals, and the likes,” Sofia answered.

You ended up all moving to the living room and talking about anything and everything.

“Hey! I heard Jacob Bosh was expelled from GU last week,” Jisoo said. “They found GHB in his dorm.”

“Wow. That’s disgusting,” Sofia chimed in.

You made eye contact with Jennie.

Jacob Bosh was the guy who had tried to drug Roseanne at the club the previous week.

On the way back to your dorm that night, you had made a quick visit to the dean. You were happy to know that they took these matters seriously.

In a moment of silence, Sofia started looking around and patting her pockets. “Are you looking for something, Sofia?” Jisoo asked, and Sofia looked at you.

“Yes, hey, Lisa, I think I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?” she said seriously. Jisoo and Roseanne snorted. Sofia smirked.

“Wow, you’re _so_ smooth,” Roseanne said and chuckled.

“Thank you,” Sofia replied. “No but... seriously, Lisa?”

You looked at your teammates for backup. They did not seem to get the hint. Then, as you glanced at Ike, an idea crossed your mind .

_Brilliant._

“That _was_ pretty smooth... I wish I were that smooth,” you said, looking down. “Do you all know good pick-up lines that could help me out?” you asked everyone, cringing on the inside.

“Oh! Yeah! I got one!” Roseanne exclaimed, looking at Jisoo next to her on the couch. She leaned her elbow on Jisoo’s shoulder and licked her lips. “Hey, girl. If you were a cucumber, you’d be a cute-cumber,” Roseanne said confidently. She burst out laughing, whereas Jisoo and everyone else just looked confused. Roseanne seemed to realize that her pick-up line made no sense and reached out to grab Jisoo’s forearm. “Oh shoot! I messed it up! Wait, I want to go again!” she exclaimed. Jisoo held a hand up to her.

“Let me show you how it’s done, Rosé. Lisa, take notes,” she told you. She turned to Jennie, who was sitting next to her, and flipped her hair away from her face. “I must be… in a museum…” Jisoo said slowly.

“Why?” Jennie asked in a raspy voice.

“…because you are a work of art,” Jisoo concluded, pronouncing every word carefully and caressing Jennie’s face. Jennie turned her face away quickly, smiling widely, nose crinkled.

 _Is Jennie blushing?_ you wondered.

Jennie cleared her throat and pointed at Ike who was sitting on the other couch. “Ike, are you Netflix? Because I could watch you for hours,” she growled, clawing at the air.

The room “Oh-ed!” and Roseanne pointed at Ike.

“Wait, wait, wait. Okay, second try.” She readied herself and cleared her throat. “Are you an… electrician? Because you’re definitely lighting up my sky,” she ended her pick-up line in a raspy voice.

“Yah! Why did your voice grow quieter?!” Jisoo shouted.

“Okay, my turn,” Ike pushed himself to the edge of the couch. He hid his phone and stared at Roseanne. _Did he just memorize a pick-up line he found online?_ “If you were a booger…” Ike started. Your eyes widened in shock. You watched as Roseanne’s smile turned upside-down. “…I’d pick you first,” he finished and the room became quiet. You glanced at Roseanne, and she looked _horrified_.

 _What the hell is that?_ You burst out laughing. Your body jerked forward with uncontrollable laughter, and you clapped your hands a few times.

You gave him the perfect opportunity to flirt with his crush.

And he compared her to a booger.

_This is just great!_

You eventually calmed down and realized that everyone was staring at you. You became self-conscious, thinking about the way you had laughed.

_Was it too much?_

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh like that,” Jisoo said, looking surprised.

“Yeah, me either,” Donghae added and chuckled.

“Okay, let’s see what I can come up with,” you said, trying to think of a good pick-up line. You thought of one and looked at Donghae, who was sitting on the floor. “Are you the moon?” you asked and Jennie, Jisoo, and Roseanne started laughing. They then encouraged you to keep going, nodding and smiling at you. Losing your momentum and some of your confidence, you finished the pick-up line with a shaky, uncertain voice. “Because even when it’s dark, you still seem to shine…”

Ike started booing at you and the others soon joined him. You cocked your head to the side and sighed in embarrassment. You could feel your cheeks get warmer.

Donghae cleared his throat and tapped on Sofia’s shoulder. She looked at him, smiling. “If you were an ass, I’d smack the shit out of you,” he said.

_No fucking way._

You burst out laughing again. The others soon joined you in your laughter.

***

You all eventually calmed down and went back to work. You studied two for more hours before Sofia called it a night. She had been yawning loudly and dozing on and off for the past hour.

After she had gathered all of her things, she handed you her phone. You looked up at her curiously. “So that you can add me on social media,” she said nonchalantly.

“Oh, true!” Jisoo shouted. “We’re not friends on Facebook yet! Or following each other on Instagram!”

“I want to add you too,” you heard Roseanne say quietly.

Your teammates looked at you inquisitively, eyebrows raised.

“We are not on social media,” you told the girls.

“What? Why?” Sofia asked.

“We are pretty private about our personal lives, and we want to keep it that way,” you answered honestly.

“I totally get it,” Roseanne said, sighing.

“Yeah, but that’s why you create two accounts. A public account with your real name and a private one with a fake name. Everybody does that… right?” Sofia asked, looking at her friends.

“I mean, I do,” Jisoo answered.

“Yeah, me too,” Roseanne said.

You had momentarily forgotten that these three women were famous outside of your dorm. It suddenly made sense that they would have two accounts.

One for their fans, and one for themselves.

“Here, let me show you,” Sofia said, taking over your computer. Five minutes later, you had both a Facebook and an Instagram account. Your username on both social media was ‘Forever_Grateful.’

Sofia then proceeded to show you how both platforms worked. Shortly after, you sent friend requests to Jisoo’s, Roseanne’s, and Sofia’s private accounts. Roseanne accepted your Facebook request first, and you went on her profile.

Her profile picture was of her dog, named Hank according to his name tag, and you scrolled down to look at some of her pictures and posts.

In one of her most recent pictures, Roseanne was hugging another girl and smiling widely at the camera. They were both wearing multi-coloured flower crowns and had colourful drawings on their faces. You recognized the pink, yellow, and blue rectangles drawn on Roseanne’s cheeks as the pansexual flag.

You then looked at their surroundings.

You recognized the city they were in.

They were in Montreal.

More specifically, they were in the Gay Village on St-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal.

Pride flags were hanging on the buildings on either side of the street, and the people around the girls were holding various LGBTQA+ flags.

Something else in the picture caught your attention: the FL9 building.

Your heart skipped a beat.

You cleared your throat.

“I see you were recently in Montreal, Roseanne,” you told her, glancing at your teammates quickly to gauge their reactions. They looked at you briefly and stared back down at their phones.

“Yes, I was!” she exclaimed, eye-smiling at you. _Pretty._ “I absolutely love the city! I think the pictures you’re looking at are from last August, right?” You nodded. “I went to the pride parade with some friends. We had such a blast,” she grinned. Suddenly, her composure changed, and she looked shy. She looked away for a second and glanced back at you. She seemed to hesitate. _She looks so cute right now._ You waited patiently. “I’m pansexual,” she ended up saying.

A moment of silence passed.

Eventually, you said “Okay” in an attempt to fill the silence.

“I’m not ready to come out to the world yet though, so I haven’t posted anything about it on my public accounts… But the people I care about know about it, and everyone has been really supportive,” she concluded, looking at your teammates.

“That’s great, Rosé,” Ike told her, reaching out to put a hand on top of hers.

“I like men, but you could say I’m bi-curious,” Jisoo announced, looking at Jennie.

Jennie smiled back at Jisoo and quickly hid her face behind her phone.

“And I’m bisexual,” Sofia informed you, dragging her hand up and down your arm.

“Boundaries,” you said, and she removed her hand.

You looked at Roseanne and caught her staring at you. “What… about you guys?” she asked shyly. She suddenly straightened up. “Only if you feel comfortable sharing that with us, of course,” she added, looking around.

You looked at your teammates. You had never talked about your sexual orientation before. You actually had no idea what their sexual orientations were.

“I’m straight,” Ike affirmed, smiling at Roseanne. She smiled back at him.

“I’m… I don’t know, actually…” Jennie said, sighing.

“That’s okay, Jennie,” Jisoo told her warmly. “You’re in college. It’s the perfect place to experiment. But please use protection if you do,” she teased. Jennie giggled.

“I think I may be asexual or demi-sexual,” Donghae said. “I’m not sure yet.”

Everyone nodded. Then, all eyes were on you.

“Honestly, I have never really thought about it,” you confessed.

“Well, have you ever found someone attractive?” Sofia asked you, inching her face closer to yours.

Images flashed in your mind.

Images of Roseanne’s eye-smile, Roseanne at the club, Roseanne making pancakes, Roseanne studying with her eyebrows furrowed, tongue poking the inside of her cheek.

_Oh._

_Oh, no._

_Oh, no, no, no, no, no._

You cleared your throat. “I guess I have. I think I can tell when a guy is handsome, but I am not sure I have ever been _attracted_ to one… if that makes sense. As for women… well…” You were starting to feel self-conscious, and your face was getting warmer by the second.

What you were sharing felt incredibly intimate.

Sofia “Oh-ed,” and you glanced at your teammates. They seemed surprised at first but quickly smiled warmly at you.

You sighed in relief.

You did not realize you had been holding your breath.

“So, I stand a chance then,” Sofia smirked at you.

You sighed and rolled your eyes before you could stop yourself. Your eyes then landed on Roseanne, who was already staring at you. She quickly diverted her gaze. You then proceeded to add and follow a few more people on your social media accounts.

A few minutes later, everyone except you and Jisoo had left your dorm.

As you got into bed, you thought back to the images that had flashed in your mind after Sofia had asked you if you found anyone attractive.

_So... am I into Roseanne? This is not good. I can't do that to Ike._

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> Chapter 8 will be uploaded next Saturday, Feb 6th 2021. Chaelisa will be having some one-on-one time in the next chapter.  
> Btw The Show is tomorrow!!!  
> *Now off to watch the sound check rehearsal on YT*


	8. Week Two: Big Five, Pt. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yow yow yow. The Show was amazing! I'm definitely rewatching it later today.  
> Also, here's chapter 8 as promised!  
> Enjoy!

Friday rolled in quickly, and you got ready to go work out before class as you did every day. However, unlike every day, you heard noise coming from the kitchen area as you left your room.

_Is Jisoo awake? At 6 in the morning? That cannot be._

You peeked around the wall at the kitchen table.

Roseanne was sitting there.

Your heart jumped in your chest.

You were not expecting Roseanne to be here. At this time of day.

She had not noticed your presence yet. So, you decided to study her from afar.

She was wearing a dark purple hoodie and her lavender hair was tied up in a messy bun. _She looks cute._ She was on her phone, with her lips pursed and brow furrowed. You watched as she dropped her phone on the table and hid her face in her hands, sighing heavily.

 _She also looks tense_ , you noted.

You got closer to her, stepping into the dining area. “Good morning, Roseanne,” you greeted her. She jumped in her seat and put a hand on her chest.

“Jesus, Lisa. Don’t do that…” she breathed out. “I’m going to buy you socks with bells on them for Christmas, I swear…” she teased, smiling at you.

You chuckled in response. “I apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it; if I wasn’t awake before, now I certainly am,” she said with a tone of irony and chuckled.

“If I may, what _are_ you doing here? At this hour?” you asked, sitting at the table across from her.

She sighed. “Today are the volleyball tryouts,” she told you. “I always feel a lot of pressure during tryouts, but this year, I feel it more for some reasons…” She looked up at you and seemed to hesitate. “I was team captain last year, so I feel like people’s expectations are higher this year, and I don’t want to let them down. Because if I disappoint them, then I’ll be disappointed in myself.”

You nodded, trying to put yourself in her shoes. “That sounds like a heavy burden to carry around,” you sighed.

“It is,” she chuckled. “It really is. And to add to that, the team coach made t-shirts and coffee mugs with my face on them,” she hid her face in her hands. “This is _so_ embarrassing. I want to be worthy of that, you know? I want to live up to the hype, but what if I can’t?”

You could not help but smile. _She really does not want to disappoint the people who support her. It is adorable how much she cares._ “I think there is a reason why you were team captain last year,” you told her. “If I were you, I would trust in myself and just do my best.”

She lowered her hands and smiled sweetly at you. “Thank you.”

“Although, it is probably easier said-”

“-than done, yeah… for sure,” she finished your sentence, and you smiled at each other.

_I enjoy talking with Roseanne... It is so easy to talk with he-_

“I enjoy talking with you. It’s… simple. I like it,” she told you, smiling.

You were surprised you had been thinking the same thing at the same time. That was rare.

A sleepy Jisoo then entered the room, hair covering her face, feet dragging on the floor. “What is going on here?” Jisoo asked in a raspy voice.

“We’re just chatting,” Roseanne answered, and Jisoo hummed.

“Can’t you chat, like, silently?” Jisoo asked. You and Roseanne exchanged a look and chuckled.

“No, not really,” you answered her.

“Wait, Lisa... You’re not at the gym,” Jisoo stated, sounding more awake all of a sudden.

You looked at your phone.

_It is too late now to do a full workout_ , you noticed. _I should get ready for class._

“Indeed, I decided to skip this morning. I should go get changed,” you told them and went to your bedroom.

As you undressed, you realized you had never missed a morning workout session in over five years.

 _There is a first for everything_ , you thought.

For some reasons, your contact lenses were irritating your eyes this morning. So, you removed them and put on your thin-rimmed gold glasses, or ‘hipster glasses’ as Jisoo affectionately called them.

You stepped out of your room with your backpack and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge as Jisoo and Roseanne chatted in the kitchen.

“Lisa,” Roseanne called your name, and you looked at her. She was staring at you wide-eyed, mouth open. “You wear glasses?” she asked, and you nodded.

“Oh, yeah,” Jisoo chipped in. “Her infamous hipster glasses!” Jisoo teased you, laughing.

You chuckled and shook your head. _Maybe I should wear my contact lenses. This is embarrassing._

You grabbed both sides of your glasses and, before you could remove them, Roseanne spoke up. “Keep your glasses on, Lisa.” You glanced at her. She maintained eye contact. She licked her lips. “You look really good in them.”

Something in her eyes made you inhale sharply. You swallowed and nodded, smiling subtly.

“I have to get going. I will see you tonight,” you told them.

“By, Lisa!” Jisoo shouted. She was definitely more awake now.

You grabbed the door handle and stepped out of the dorm.

“Is it just me or was the air sexually charg-”

“Jisoo!” you heard Roseanne chastise her before you closed the door behind you.

As soon as you stepped out of the dorm, you could feel the excitement in the air. There were students walking around from dorm to dorm, others were chatting animatedly, and some were running excitedly to the elevators. You noticed that a few of them had banners hanging around their necks, but you could not see what was written on them.

Usually, the fourteenth floor was relatively empty this early in the morning. However, over the week, you had come to learn that sports tryouts were big events at Gaylord University, especially when it came to the women’s volleyball team.

You walked in an elevator, joining a handful of students, and eavesdropped on their conversation as you headed to The Village. It was a detour, but you wanted to stop by Tim Hortons to get yourself something to drink before class.

“I’m so excited for tonight's tryouts!” one of the girls squealed.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see Rosé in action. She’s so fucking hot on the court,” a guy added.

“Do you know if she’s still dating Nigel?” the other guy asked.

“I don’t know actually,” the other girl answered. “They haven’t been posting much on their social media. Do you think Jisoo and Sofia will be making the team this year again? Together with Rosé, they were unbeatable.”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. You all stepped off into The Village and joined the sea of students walking around energetically. About half of the students had banners around their necks, others were wearing ‘Gaylord University’ hats, and some had finger foams, all in the school’s colours: black and pink.

You also spotted a few people wearing shirts with Roseanne’s face on them. _She was not lying earlier…_ You noticed that some of them were also wearing ‘Jisoo merch’ and ‘Sofia merch.’ All three women looked fierce on the t-shirts.

Fairly quickly, you spotted the store that was selling all of these accessories. It had black and pink banners, flags, finger foams, trumpets, and toy hammers hanging on its outer walls. The store seemed to be everyone’s go-to destination; students were going in and out of the store, leaving with a bag full of Gaylord University merchandise.

 _Should I… buy merch?_ you wondered. You thought about it. If you _were_ to get some, it would make more sense for you to get ‘Jisoo merch’ since she was your roommate than either 'Roseanne merch' or 'Sofia merch.' _But Roseanne looks so good on those shirts…_

After a few minutes, you sighed and decided not to get any. You were not Roseanne’s, Jisoo’s, or Sofia’s fan. You were… _their friends? acquaintances?_ You did not actually know. What you _did_ know was that you were going to be late for class if you stayed in The Village any longer.

On your way to class, you realized you had forgotten to get yourself a drink. _I will go after class_ , you decided.

***

True to your words, after class, you went to Tim Hortons and noticed that The Village was buzzing even more than it did earlier. It was jam-packed. You were getting pushed and pulled in every direction. You looked around, and everyone you spotted was wearing merch for tonight’s tryouts.

Ten minutes later, it was finally your turn to order, and you paid for your drink. As you waited for your order, you noticed that a few people were wearing ‘Sofia merch,' more people were wearing ‘Jisoo merch,’ but most of them were wearing ‘Roseanne merch.’

“Here you go, Miss Manoban,” someone behind the counter said. You turned around and grabbed your drink.

_Oh._

A picture of Roseanne was on your Tim Hortons cup. She looked fierce yet elegant in her volleyball jersey, arms crossed, chin raised, staring at you. _Does that count as 'Roseanne merch?'_ you wondered.

You took at sip of the drink and squeezed past people all the way back to your dorm.

***

Later that evening, you, Ike, and Donghae sat down in the bleachers and watched the men’s volleyball team tryouts. The gym was loud, the bleachers full of blabbering college students. To you, it seemed like half of the crowd was actually paying attention to the tryouts, whereas the other half was just having a good time, drinking beer, and talking amongst themselves.

You eventually excused yourself from your teammates and headed to the locker room to go to the bathroom. You left the gym and approached the locker room where a tall black man was posted.

You knew what was coming, but you thought that it was worth a shot.

You smiled politely at him, “Good evening, sir.”

He stopped you, raising a hand. “This area is off limit at the moment,” he informed you in a deep voice.

“I really need to use the restroom, sir,” you told him cordially.

“Sorry, Miss, but that will not be possible,” he said. “There’s another bathroom if you go ups-”

The door suddenly opened behind him, bumping into his back. Roseanne’s head peeked from behind the door. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry Brendan!” she apologized. Then she looked at you. “Oh, hey Lisa!” You smiled back at her. She looked between you and Brendan. “Do you want to come in?” she asked you.

“Miss Park, no one’s allowe-” Brendan started.

“It’s okay, Brendan,” she smiled at him. “Lisa’s a friend. If she causes trouble, we’ll kick her right out. Sounds good?” She eye-smiled at him and he smiled back, nodding.

 _So, we_ are _friends after all_ , you thought. Your chest felt warmer at that thought alone.

“Lisa,” Roseanne extended a hand toward you. “Come on.” You took her hand and let her pull you inside the locker room.

“I thought I recognized your voice,” she chuckled. “Do what you got to do,” she whispered, letting go of your hand. She then joined Jisoo and Sofia in their warm-up.

As you stepped into the bathroom area, you came face to face with Jennie. She was also wearing the school’s black and pink volleyball uniform. You both stopped walking and nodded at each other. She shot you a nervous smile, and you squeezed her arm. “Don’t hold back, Jennie,” you told her. “Knock them dead.”

She smirked and nodded. “Got it, boss. I should go warm up.”

“I will see you out there, Jennie.”

 _They are not ready for her_ , you thought, smirking.

After washing your hands, you headed back to the locker room, walking past the volleyball players. All of a sudden, you felt someone grab your wrist and spin you around. You came face to face with _Sofia_.

“Aren't you going to wish me luck, Lisa?” Sofia asked you, inching her face closer to yours. “A good luck kiss will suffice,” she puckered her lips.

“Boundaries, Sofia,” you said, and she let go.

“You’re no fun, Lisa,” she sighed dramatically. She then turned around and back quickly, wrapping something around your neck. You looked down. _A banner_ , you noticed. It had ‘Sofia Pudelko’ written on it. _‘Sofia merch.’_ “Your neck looked a little lonely,” she winked.

You looked into her eyes, unfazed. “From what I heard, you do not need luck, Sofia. You got this,” you told her sincerely. She lowered her head.

“Oh. Wow. Um. Thank you,” she smiled shyly. “Can I hug you?” Sofia asked and, over her shoulder, you noticed Roseanne and Jisoo staring at you.

“Sure. A quick one. And no weird thing is allowed,” you informed her. She quickly hugged you and let go.

“Wow, that was the best hug I’ve ever had,” she said breathily, practically moaning. She smirked; she was messing with you. “Thanks, Lisa. Now shoo, you’re distracting me,” she nudged you playfully, and you left the locker room.

***

You sat back down next to Ike and Donghae, and they caught you up what you had missed in the last ten minutes. Moments later, the men’s volleyball team players saluted the crowd and left the gym.

Suddenly, loud music started blasting through the speakers, and the crowd began cheering even louder. You then noticed the women’s volleyball team competitors enter the gym, and the crowd went crazy. The bleachers started shaking as everyone stood up at once and began jumping to the beat of the song.

“And now,” a deep voice commented through the speakers, “please welcome to the court the women’s volleyball team tryout competitors!” The room cheered, and the girls raised their arms to wave at the crowd.

You did not know what to expect, but you knew it was going to be amazing.

_Let’s see what you got, Roseanne._

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I re-wrote it twice to include more Chaelisa moments.  
> I'm considering uploading another chapter later today (chapter 9). Let me know what you think! Also, so far, I've written 14 chapters in total (with bits and pieces of later chapters written here and there).  
> If I don't upload another chapter today (Feb 6th), the next update will be on Saturday Feb 13th 2021.  
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Week Two: Big Five, Pt. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 9 as promised!  
> Lili's film "The Movie" though... *mind blown*  
> Enjoy!

“Go Roseanne! Go Roseanne!” the crowd chanted over and over as she stepped onto the court, volleyball in hand.

The first challenge was to perform three serves in a row in each of the four hoops scattered on the other half court.

Roseanne readied herself, one arm extended in front of her and the other raised in the air.

The referee whistled, and Roseanne threw the ball in the air.

You held your breath as you watched the ball float high above her head.

Roseanne ran forward and jumped. She hit the ball loudly before it landed in the green hoop.

The crowd roared, going crazy. And seconds later, it was dead silent again.

Roseanne was ready for her second serve.

Eleven serves later, she was done. She had easily passed the first challenge, not missing once.

You noticed that she seemed to release a heavy sigh as she joined her teammates on the side of the court, high-fiving a few of them.

 _She must be under a lot of pressure right now_ , you realized. All these people were cheering for her. Had she missed, you did not know how the crowd would have reacted. _She has to be perfect. Otherwise, she would be disappointing a lot of people, including herself._

Jisoo was next. She impressed you. She did not miss once either.

Then, it was Sofia’s turn. She missed once. The crowd kept cheering on her regardless.

Other girls followed Roseanne, Jisoo, and Sofia, with varying levels of success.

Then, it was Jennie’s turn.

The crowd seemed to have lost interest over the last few minutes as the competitors performed worse and worse. They were chatting very loudly, paying little to no attention to what was happening on the court.

Jennie readied herself, and you looked over at Ike. You exchanged a knowing look and stared back at Jennie.

_Show them, Jennie._

The referee whistled, and she threw the ball in the air. She hit it loudly, and it landed in the green hoop. 

You saw a few people in the crowd turn their heads to look at Jennie, seemingly intrigued.

Another ball was thrown at Jennie, and she readied herself once more.

And she did it again. And again. She moved on to the yellow hoop and succeeded all three serves. You noticed that more and more people were paying attention to Jennie.

She did it again for the red hoop. And for the blue hoop. The crowd had become completely silent for her last serve and erupted in loud cheers as she passed the first challenge à la perfection.

You watched as Roseanne approached Jennie slowly, eyes wide open, with a shocked smile on her face. They high-fived and hugged quickly, before moving to the side as the tryouts’ second challenge was being set up. 

“Just to be clear,” Ike whispered in your ear. “Jennie has never played volleyball, has she?”

You kept your eyes on Jennie as you answered him. “Never.”

“Wow,” you heard him say, and you could not help but smirk.

Jennie had a gift. After watching the same action or movement a few times, she was able to recreate it perfectly. That was the reason why she had asked to be the last competitor to perform on each of the challenges: so that she could analyse the muscle movement of those who performed well and compare it to that of those who performed poorly.

But you knew she had it all figured out after Roseanne’s turn.

Early on, you had noticed this gift in Jennie. Immediately, you knew that she was going to be an amazing asset to your team. That was part of the reason why you had recruited her. Ike and Donghae had useful talents, but only her had such a gift.

The second challenge was to perform 100 sets and forearm passes with another competitor. Every pair succeeded perfectly, and the competitors moved on to the third challenge.

Ten challenges were completed in total. And they all led to the same outcome: Roseanne, Jisoo, and Jennie performed perfectly; Sofia missed a few times but was still better than the other competitors; and the other competitors missed more often but still performed well overall.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the deep-voice sports commentator resonated in the room, “the women’s volleyball team tryouts have finally come to an end!” The crowd went wild. “I ask that everyone stay seated as the competitors leave the court.” The girls waved at the crowd and left the gym. “Now, I invite you all to freshen up and meet us at the nightclub in two hours! See you there!”

You watched as the crowd slowly disappeared out of the doors, and you followed suit with Ike and Donghae.

As you walked past the women’s locker room, something caught your eye, and you glanced over. Brendan was staring at you and waving you over. You dragged Ike and Donghae with you as you walked up to him.

“Hello again. Miss Park is waiting for you and your friends inside,” he informed you.

_Well... that is unexpected._

You looked over your shoulder to see if Ike and Donghae were fine with going into the women’s locker room. Ike was nodding furiously; Donghae seemed unbothered.

Brendan opened the door, and you stepped in.

Some of the girls were hugging each other, squealing excitedly, whereas others were crying, sitting on the floor.

_College..._

Someone tugged you forward by the banner ends, and you found yourself engulfed in Sofia’s arms. “I can’t believe you’re still wearing my banner!” she screamed excitedly in your ear, hugging you tightly for a while.

You caught Jennie’s attention and nodded at her. She nodded back, smiling. 

You then saw Roseanne and Jisoo approach you as Sofia held tightly onto you. You patted her three times on the back and started pulling back.

“Yes, I wore it the whole time. Now, boundaries, Sofia,” you said, and she let go. She walked behind you, and hugged both Ike and Donghae.

You noticed Roseanne’s eyes trail over the banner before she looked up into your eyes. “I hope you all enjoyed the show,” she said in her Australian accent, smiling.

“You were amazing, Rosé!” Ike fanboyed. “You were perfect actually. Literally.”

“Hey, what about me?” Jisoo asked him, and he coughed.

“Yes, you too Jisoo,” he smiled at her.

“It’s ‘unnie’ for you,” she told Ike, pointing a finger at him. Donghae chuckled.

“You know what?” you heard Sofia say behind you. “My feet hurt. I think I need _and_ deserve a piggy-back ride. What do you say, Lisa?” she asked in a playful tone. You felt her hands on your shoulders.

You sighed, and you were about to tell her bound-

“Boundaries!” Roseanne, Jisoo, Jennie, Ike, and Donghae said in unison. Then they all laughed, and Sofia removed her hands from your shoulders.

 _I have become predictable_ , you thought. _Let’s change that._

You crouched down and moved your arms back, inviting Sofia onto your back. “Hop on, Sofia.”

You heard her squeal and felt her jump onto your back, legs tightening around your mid-section. You glanced at your friends as you pushed Sofia higher onto your back. They all looked stunned, mouth and eyes wide-open.

You gave them a smug look and headed to the exit.

You leaned to the side as you reached the door. “Open the door for me, will you?” you asked Sofia, and she obliged. You stepped outside the locker room, leaving the others behind.

Later that night, Jisoo and co. glammed up for the party happening at the nightclub. You decided to stay in, wanting to get some work done in the morning.

Before you turned off the lights, you glanced at your dresser. There stood the medium-sized Tim Hortons cup with Roseanne’s face on it. You had finished it a long time ago, but had not found it in you to throw it out just yet.

 _Tomorrow_ , you thought.

***

On Saturday, in the early afternoon, you were studying at the kitchen table when someone knocked at the door. You left your seat and opened the door, revealing a nervous-looking Roseanne. She was looking left and right, and playing with her hands agitatedly.

You greeted her, “Hey, Jisoo is not her-”

“Yeah, I know,” she said quickly. “She’s with Jennie.”

_Ah._

_I did not know that._

_Jisoo and Jennie are hanging out now?_

“Can I come in?” she breathed out, and you moved to the side, letting her in. You closed the door behind her and turned around to face her. She let out a big sigh and seemed to loosen up. She stretched her neck and looked at you, smiling.

 _Wow, she_ is _very pretty._

“I’m sorry for barging in on you like this, Lisa,” she apologized.

“Are you okay?” you asked her.

She sighed heavily again, throwing her head back. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, dragging out the word ‘fine’ and dragging her feet into the living room area. She let herself fall onto the couch and covered her face with her arms. “It’s just… I need some alone time sometimes, you know? It’s like… Everyone wants to hang out all the time. It was already bad before the tryouts, but now... it’s even worse. My phone buzzes every two seconds, and I feel like I can’t breathe,” she told you in one breath.

“So… You need some time alone… here? With me?” you said in a playful tone, raising an eyebrow. You crossed your arms and leaned against the wall, feeling smug.

She removed her arms blocking her face, and you noticed she was smiling. “Well yeah. I want to be alone, but I don’t want to be lonely,” she scoffed and rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing ever. “Besides you’re cool. You’re not idolizing me, as far as I know, like so many people do here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s flattering, and I like the attention. And I care about them. A lot. But I always feel pressured to be perfect. Take Ike for instance, your friend. He seems really sweet and all, but I can see that he idolizes me. So, I always feel like I can’t be my true self around him and others like him because all they know is the perfect image I project, not the real me. What if the real me is disappointing?”

A moment of silence passed.

“That sounds like a lot of pressure,” you thought out loud.

“Yeah, it is,” she sighed, picking at her nails. “Hey, talking about being idolized… What about you?” she asked, looking at you. You raised your eyebrows. “You and Sofia seem to be getting along well,” she teased, smiling and wiggling her eyebrows.

You thought about it for a second. “She’s… something,” you formulated. That meant absolutely nothing. You cleared your throat. “She’s very… clingy, touchy-feely, and reckless. We are very different in those regards,” you concluded.

“Yeah, but,” she gave you a knowing look. You did not know what she knew or what she thought you knew. “I mean, come on, Lisa,” her knowing look intensified. You were as clueless as you could be. She laughed. “You invited her into your bedroom, you wore her banner at the tryouts, you hugged her tightly for a long time, _and_ you gave her a piggy-back ride. I haven’t seen you do any of those things with anybody else,” she pointed out.

You smiled. “We established boundaries in my bedroom, I forgot I was wearing her banner, _she_ hugged _me_ for a long time, and… yes, I did give her a piggy-back ride, but that was purely for shock value,” you corrected her.

“Purely for shock value,” she air quoted you, and repeated after you in a deeper voice, mocking you.

“Are you jealous, Miss Park?” she asked her playfully.

She scoffed, “Of course not.”

Your smile grew, and you walked closer to her. You then asked her seriously, “Would you like a piggy-back ride to my bedroom, Roseanne?”

She burst out laughing and covered her face with her hands. She peeked through her fingers and hid again. After a moment, she cleared her throat and sat up on the couch. She squinted at you, “You probably think that I’ll say ‘no,’ don’t you?” You smiled and shrugged. _Of course I do._ She stood up and extended her arms in front of her. _Oh._ “Yes, please! I would love a piggy-back ride to your bedroom, Lalisa!”

You stood frozen in place for a second before you crouched down in front of her. She jumped onto your back, and you secured her legs around your waist, your hands holding her thighs.

Roseanne squealed in a high-pitch tone in your ear as you walked to your bedroom. She opened the door for you, and you laid her down gently on your bed.

“Did that meet your expectations?” you asked her.

She leaned back on her hands. “Totally. So worth it. Would recommend. Five stars,” she replied playfully. Then, her eyes landed on something behind you, and she looked back at you with a glimmer in her eyes.

_Oh, no... the Tim Hortons cup…_

You had not thrown it out yet. It was still on your dresser.

She hummed. “Maybe you _are_ idolizing me too… just... secretly,” she teased, and you shrugged.

“Maybe I am, who knows?” _Maybe. Probably. Yes. Definitely._ “Did you tell me what you are majoring in, Roseanne?” you asked her, smoothly changing the topic of conversation.

She pointed a finger at you. “Don't think I don't notice you deflecting the conversation. And no, I don’t think I did,” she said. “I’m doing a joint honours program in Economics and Accounting. I’m supposed to take over my father’s company in a few years. At first, my older sister was supposed to do it, but she dropped out of college, and now she’s traveling around the world with her friends. She’s living her best life, really, and I’m happy for her.”

“I see. What kind of company is your dad’s?” you asked.

“They do many different things, but they specialize in pharmaceutics,” she answered. “Now, enough about me. I feel like I’m always talking about myself. What about you? How’s your second week of class going? Have you learned anything interesting lately?”

You told her about the halo effect and the Big Five personality traits. You mentioned the online personality assessment test, and she urged you to take it together.

You did, and it turned out you had similar personality traits. You were both highly conscientious and at the halfway point on the dimensions of extraversion and agreeableness. However, you differed on the remaining two dimensions: openness to experience and neuroticism. On openness to experience, you scored low whereas she scored high, and it was the opposite pattern for neuroticism.

With this information only, it was hard for you to tell whether or not your personalities matched.

_But I do not need a test to know that Roseanne has a great personality._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter!  
> The next update will be on Saturday Feb 20th 2021. It'll most likely be a double update (if not triple, tbd).  
> See you then!


	10. Weeks Three & Four: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello,  
> I hope you are all doing well.  
> Here is chapter 10. This chapter is a lot more black than pink, if you know what I mean. It's a bit different.  
> In this chapter and the next, you will learn more about Lisa's backstory and FL9 life.  
> Trigger warning: torture (implicit)

On Monday morning, you were attending your third Social Psyc lecture, taking diligent notes as the teacher covered the material: “In 1948, Merton defined the construct of self-fulfilling prophecy as ‘a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the originally false conception come true.’”

Your phone buzzed loudly on the desk next to your computer. You ignored it, keeping your attention on the teacher.

“That’s a lot of words. What they mean is that, more often than not, our beliefs influence our behaviours. The resulting behaviours then impact our reality, which can be altered to confirm our prior beliefs.”

Your phone buzzed again. You ignored it again.

“Let me give you an example. Let’s say that I hear from Person A that Person B is a bitch. Then, understandably so, I may not want to hang out or be friendly with Person B. I might even ignore or insult Person B, which may in turn encourage Person B to bitch about me, which would 1. be well-deserved and 2. confirm my prior belief that Person B _is_ a bitch,” the teacher said, eliciting a few laughs amongst the students. “That is, in a nutshell, what the self-fulfilling prophecy is,” the teacher concluded.

Your phone buzzed a third time.

You looked at your notifications, and your eyes widened when you noticed you had three unread messages from the FL9 agent Sammy Li. You unlocked your phone and read the messages: ‘Bad news.' 'It's Aleks.' 'Look at your BP,’ BP being short for burner phones.

It suddenly hit you that you had been completely disconnected from your life back in Montreal. Unconsciously, you knew that you would eventually have to go back to your normal life, but it had momentarily slipped from your mind. And your mind had been relatively peaceful, until then.

Staring at Agent Li's cryptic messages, you realized you had no idea what had been going on at the FL9 company. But you knew that if Agent Li was messaging you, something had gone terribly wrong.

On the way back to your dorm after class, you could not help but wonder what the hell had happened at the FL9 company.

And you could not help but think about the worst case scenario, being that Jennie, Ike, Donghae, and you would have to leave college and go back to the FL9 building _permanently_.

_I really hope that will not happen..._

***

When you got back to your dorm, you found Ike, Donghae, Roseanne, and Sofia chatting animatedly at the dining table. You had plans to study together this afternoon.

You instinctively made eye contact with Roseanne, and she straightened her back, smiling brightly at you. “Hey, Lisa!”

“Hey,” you replied less enthusiastically. “Ike, Donghae, a word?” you asked. They nodded and stood up. “Where’s Jennie?”

“She’s in Jisoo’s bedroom...” Sofia answered, smirking. “...with Jisoo.”

“I see,” you replied, and led Ike and Donghae into your bedroom. You closed the door behind you and looked for your burner phones.

One of them had unread messages from Sir Rutherford. You inhaled deeply and read the messages.

**Message received from STR @ 9:03am:**

Agent Radoulov has been murdered last night.

The funerals are this Saturday.

**Message received from STR @ 9:04am:**

A person has been brought in for questioning.

The interrogation starts today.

A helicopter should arrive at Gaylord University around 10:30am for you, Agent Manoban.

You looked at the time. It was 10:43am.

You handed the phone to Donghae and started packing.

_I cannot believe this._

“Do you want us to come with you?” Donghae asked, and you shook your head.

“You did not know him. And I do not have the time to wait for you,” you answered him. “I count on you two to tell Jennie what happened,” you told them, and they nodded.

You were done packing within five minutes and dashed to the door with a suitcase.

“Hey, Lisa! Where are you going?” Roseanne asked you, looking confused.

“There is an emergency at work. I have to go back to Montreal,” you told her dryly. You internally cringed at the tone of your voice. You hoped she would not take it personally and left the dorm.

***

Surely enough, there was a helicopter on the rooftop of Gaylord University when you stepped outside. You quickly got in and buckled up. You heard the pilot say words, but your brain could not register what he was saying.

You were feeling _so many_ different emotions at once.

Fury. Hatred. Disgust. Agony. Sadness. Guilt. Shame.

You did not speak throughout the flight. Instead, you spent most of the flight remembering the time you had spent as a trainee with your teammates, agents Aleks Radoulov and Sammy Li.

***

_At the age of fifteen, your cohort found itself lined up in one of the FL9 Academy gymnasiums. In front of you were graduated FL9 agents. They each had a clipboard and were going through the papers clipped to it, sporadically looking at one of you and scribbling down notes._

_Today was the day you were going to be assigned a mentor, as a trainee, and, with two other trainees, you would be forming a team._

_You glanced at Erika on your left. She glanced back at you. You both smiled weakly at one another and looked back ahead with a stoic facial expression._

_You were feeling extremely nervous. You were going to be trained and perfected with these two other trainees until you all graduated at the age of eighteen. You were hoping to be teamed up with Erika, but you knew the chances of that happening were slim since you had similar strengths._

_The teams had to be balanced in skills. You were both mentally agile and intuitive, and both of you specialized in weapon fighting. However, you both had to improve your observation skills, and your abilities to disguise efficiently, among other things._

_Moments later, the mentors had made their decisions, and you were waiting for your name to be called._

_A dark-skinned man stepped forward amongst the line of mentors and spoke up. “My name is Agent Lincoln Whittle, and I call forward the following trainees: Lalisa Manoban, Aleks Radoulov, and Sammy Li.” The three of you stepped forward and looked at each other._

_Aleks Radoulov was a tall and muscular Caucasian boy. He had just started his puberty, but he was already massive. As for Sammy Li, she was a slim, fit girl of Chinese descent. She looked sweet, but you had seen her fight; she had a killer instinct._

_That was all you knew about them. You just hoped that you would get along and work well together. Because you were stuck together for the next three years. “Follow me,” Agent Whittle said, and the three of you followed suit without another word._

_On your way out, you looked back at Erika. She smiled at you._

It is all going to be okay, Lalisa _, you told yourself as the doors closed behind you._

***

Once the helicopter landed on the FL9 building, you stepped out and headed straight for the entrance. Two agents were posted there. “Agent Manoban,” they greeted you.

“Gentlemen,” you greeted them back and pushed through the doors. There stood Agent Li, pacing back and forth.

“Finally,” she said and hooked your arms together. She walked hastily to the elevator, dragging you in with her. “I am guessing you want to partake in the interrogation, Agent Manoban?” she said in an inquisitive tone.

You nodded. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. You both stepped in. She pressed the floor ‘T1.’ It was the lowest floor in the entire building.

As the elevator descended, Agent Li turned to you. “How are you doing?”

“Bad,” you answered her. Your arms starting burning with anger. “How is the interrogation going? Is the person talking?”

“No, unfortunately. He has not said anything yet. So far, only the first phase of the interrogation process has been initiated. We were waiting on you to begin phase two,” she informed you.

“Good,” you said.

The elevator slowed down and came to a halt. It dinged, and the doors opened.

You both stepped off and walked down the hallway. The hallway was so brightly lit, it almost blinded you. You walked past many closed doors as you followed Agent Li. Eventually, she stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.

The door opened, and you stepped into a dark room. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the lighting.

You found yourself in a room with a window giving view on another, well-lit room. It that second room was a table, a chair, and a man chained to both the table and the chair by his feet, wrists, and neck.

In spite of his unfortunate predicament, the man wore a blank facial expression. He did not seem afraid or angry. He just seemed to be waiting, patiently.

“Here,” Agent Li said, catching your attention. She was handing you black leather gloves. “Let phase two begin.”

You put the gloves on and entered the other room.

***

You came back into the middle room where Agent Li and a medical team were waiting. All three members of the medical team were dressed in surgical attire. One member removed the bloodied gloves from your hands, another carefully removed your shirt sprayed with blood, and the last one checked for any trace of blood on your skin before handing you a clean shirt.

“Agent Li, please look into the name he gave us: Nathan Hunter. It may be a false lead, but it is the only lead that we have thus far.” You turned to the medical team. “Please tend to his wounds, and give him food and water. Force-feed him if need be. I want him to stay alive.” They nodded. “Tomorrow morning, we will pick up right where we left off.”

***

After you had gotten ready for bed, you went under the blankets and grabbed your phone.

You had an unread message from Roseanne. Your heart fluttered.

_She thought about me today._

**Message received from RP @ 11:07pm:**

Hey Lisa :) I hope you’re okay… You were missed today <3 I’m here if you need anything!

**Message sent to RP @ 12:24am:**

Hey Roseanne. I am okay. Thank you.

Then you went on a social media app and scrolled through your Instagram feed.

You noticed that Roseanne had posted a new picture on her private account.

The picture featured Jisoo, Jennie, Sofia, and Roseanne herself. They had popped open a bottle of champagne. The picture was taken with the champagne cork flying in the air, champagne bubbles pouring out. The caption read ‘Guess who made the GU women’s volleyball team this year (again)?! *champagne emoji* *party emoji*’

You read some of the comments and concluded that Roseanne had made team captain this year again. Many people also congratulated Jisoo and Sofia, and others mentioned how impressed they had been by Jennie.

As you were scrolling through the comments, your phone buzzed in your hands.

**Message received from RP @ 12:30am:**

Anytime! :) I’m glad to know you’re okay

You smiled and kept scrolling through your Instagram feed.

You noticed that Roseanne had also posted a new picture on her _public_ account.

You froze.

It was a selfie of her and Ike. They were both smiling widely at the camera. The caption was ‘Had great news today! :D So happy to be surrounded by amazing people! <3 <3 <3’

You sighed. Your heart suddenly felt heavy in your chest.

 _This must be what jealousy feels like_ , you thought. _How unpleasant._

You kept scrolling.

Then it hit you.

 _Fuck! Ike is featured on her public account!_ you realized.

Secret agents were not supposed to publicly post pictures on social media. Or to be featured in such pictures. 

You quickly messaged Ike.

**Message sent to IN @ 12:36am:**

Roseanne needs to remove that picture of you on her public Instagram account.

A few seconds later, your phone buzzed again. It was Roseanne.

**Message received from RP @ 12:36am:**

Wow, ouch. If you need to tell me something, tell me directly rather than ask Ike to do it, Lalisa 

Your chest felt tight.

 _Fuck. She seems upset. But wait, how can she even know? And so quickly? Are they... together right now?_ A tear rolled down your cheek.

You wiped your tear and put your phone away.

 _Today was a lot emotionally_ , you acknowledged. First, the passing of your friend. Then feeling jealous of Ike. _A_ _nd now this, whatever this is..._

You thought of Ike and of how infatuated he had been with Roseanne since he first met her.

 _You know what? Good for him_ , you thought dismissively. _And good for her, if that’s what she wants._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 will be uploaded in a few minutes.  
> Thank you for reading (and for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks on this fic; they make me really happy)!


	11. Weeks Three & Four: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again,  
> Here’s chapter 11.  
> This may seem like a filler chapter, but this chapter is important for the plotline (wait for chapter 13…)  
> Trigger warning: torture & suicide (both implicit)

On Tuesday morning, you prepared yourself to resume the second phase of the interrogation process.

But first, Tim Hortons.

On your way back, you showed your ID card to the security guards as you re-entered the FL9 building, a warm cup of French Vanilla in your hand. You had to admit, you preferred the Tim Hortons cups with Roseanne’s face on them over the regular cups.

As you approached the elevators, you noticed someone push themselves off the wall and walk in your direction. You looked over at said person and made eye contact with your previous mentor: Agent Lincoln Whittle. He was wearing a shit-eating grin, had you ever seen one.

“Good morning, Agent Manoban,” he greeted you.

“Agent Whittle,” you replied coldly and pressed the elevator button.

“Have you been on Instagram lately?” he asked.

 _That can’t be good_ , you thought. _He is onto something._

“As a matter of fact, yes, I have,” you pressed the elevator button again. It was not going to make it reach the ground floor faster, but it made you feel better nonetheless.

“Ah. So, you must have seen this, then,” Agent Whittle turned his phone toward you. You glanced at it.

He was showing you the picture Roseanne had posted on her public account las night: her selfie with Ike.

_For fuck’s sake._

You knew Roseanne had deleted the picture after you had messaged Ike. You had checked her account earlier this morning, and it was no longer there. _So, this must be a screenshot_ , you concluded.

“Yes, I have. I also asked Ike to delete this picture,” you informed him.

“Ah, well… Miss Rosé Park here seems to be quite famous. The picture has been reposted by many people _and_ news outlets. Many seem to think they are a couple, too. What a mess,” he smirked. Warmth spread throughout your upper body. “I guess you were too little too late, Manoban.” He looked so smug. You wanted to punch him in the face.

You clenched your hands into fists, feeling anger bubbling up.

_Ike, what have you done?_

One of the elevators dinged, and the doors opened. You both stepped in, and you pressed the floor ‘T1’ button. The doors closed two seconds later, confining the two of you together.

“Tell me, is it true they are dating?” he asked you. “That would be incredibly reckless of him,” he chuckled.

“To my knowledge, no, they are not dating,” you answered him, looking ahead.

“Ah, sucks for him. She _is_ really pretty,” he clicked his tongue and sighed. You clenched your jaw, nails digging into your palms. “I thought I taught you better than to allow your trainees to post pictures on social media. I am very disappointed in you, Manoban.”

You did not reply and watched the floor numbers go down. _Not fast enough_ , you thought.

“You must think you’re so smart, don’t you? Having found a way to cheat the system and have a ‘normal’ life,” he chuckled dryly. “How naïve of you. Remember this is all temporary, Manoban. And those fucking trainees of yours, going to college and pretending to be normal people. The FL9 enterprise is already under fire as it is. And you are just making it worse,” he spat out.

You snapped.

“I hear you, Agent Whittle.” You paused. “You are jealous. I can clearly hear _and_ see it. You are usually better at hiding it though; you must have become rusty,” you told him. You glanced at him. He snorted. You looked back ahead. “We both know you have been jealous of me for quite some time now. Taking the credit for my ideas, presenting them as your own to Sir Rutherford all those years I was your trainee. And now being rewarded the Elizabeth cross, which you never got. And never will get. Because you are lesser than me. It must be hard for you to see someone surpass you and become better than you will ever be,” you looked back at him. He was obviously gritting his teeth. You were proud to get a reaction out of him. “I get it. I, too, have been jealous in the past. So, I know that it is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling to bear. However, it seems like I can tolerate jealousy better than you too. It makes me wonder, what can’t I do better than you?” you defiantly stared at him. He looked away and fixed his tie around his neck. You smirked.

The doors opened, and, as you stepped off the elevator, he grabbed your wrist. You turned around and stared at him, ready to fight.

“Tell me, Manoban, who have you been jealous of?” he asked you, with a glimmer in his eyes.

_Shit._

You recognized the look in his eyes: he was analyzing you.

Within the FL9 company, Agent Whittle was known to be a living polygraph; an expert lie detector.

He could always tell when someone lied. Even when _you_ lied.

 _Do not let it show, Lalisa_ , you told yourself. You straightened your posture and maintained eye contact with him, unfaltering. You knew you were done for if you looked away even for half a second.

You had dug your own hole with that one, playing yourself by being overly confident and arrogant.

“It’s someone close to you, isn’t it?” he asked, and you ever so slightly gritted your teeth. He smiled. _This is not good._ “Who is it? Agent Newton?” he inquired. _Act normal._ You swallowed dryly. He grinned. _Fuck._ “It _is_ Newton,” he chuckled. “Don’t tell me you also have affection for one Miss Rosé Park, Manoban.”

You froze, body stiffening.

_Shit._

He suddenly burst out laughing and let go of your wrist. “This is just great, Manoban. You are an even a worse liar than you were before. Who is rusty now?” he shook his head. “College truly _is_ changing you for the worse,” the elevator dinged, and the doors closed in front of him and his shit-eating grin.

You turned around and came face-to-face with Agent Li. You opened your mouth to explain everything but changed your mind.

“I take it you will be enjoying phase two today?” Agent Li asked as the two of you made your way to the room where a man was being held captive for the murder of Agent Radoulov.

“You have no idea.”

You entered the middle room, put on the leather gloves, and walked into the second room. You then slowly approached the man chained to the table, fixing your gloves. “Unluckily for you, I am having the worst morning ever. I was _just_ looking for a way to let off some steam. So, for your own sake, I suggest you talk.”

In the end, he did not speak.

Phase two lasted five days. On Friday evening, you were informed that the captive had passed away of asphyxiation. Of his own doing.

***

On Saturday morning were Agent Radoulov’s funerals. After the ceremony ended, the FL9 agents left the cemetery one by one until there were only Agent Li and yourself left.

She turned to you. “I think Agent Whittle is planning something. I’m getting a weird vibe from him," she informed you. “I have no idea what he’s planning, but whatever it is, it can’t be good. Please tell me you will be careful, Lalisa?” You nodded at her. “I already lost Aleks. I don’t want to lose you too.”

“You won’t lose me, Sammy. I’ll be careful,” you told her.

She looked up at the sky and sighed. “It is almost like we are being targeted. The FL9 agents, I mean. First, there was Agent Fernandez last spring, and now Aleks. It can’t be coincidental. Two FL9 agents have been killed within a six-months period. This is unprecedented.”

You agreed with her. It was odd. It reminded you of last spring when a man followed you to the metro and tried to kill you… unfortunately for him.

The thought of being targeted scared you. Especially since you had no clue who was targeting you in the first place. It was not a level playing field.

And none of you were safe, except for your team since you were away at Gaylord University.

Agent Li squeezed your arm and left the cemetery.

You walked slowly to Erika Maynard’s grave and crouched down.

You told her everything that had happened over the last three weeks. How weird college life was. Who your new friends were. But most importantly, you told her about _Roseanne_. “It scares me, Erika,” you whispered. “She’s amazing. I’ve never been _this_ attracted to someone before. I think about her every day. And Ike is like… _infatuated_ by her.” You paused and sighed. “They also seem to have gotten closer over the last week. I want to be happy for him, I _really_ do. But I seriously don’t like it.” You sighed. “Also, as you probably already know, Aleks Radoulov has been murdered.” You paused. “I haven’t really had time to stop and grief his death. But something is not right, Erika, and I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” You pushed yourself into a standing position. “I’m heading back to Gaylord University tomorrow morning. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’ll be back. I’m forever grateful to you,” you said and left the cemetery.

***

On Sunday morning, you were informed that a helicopter was waiting for you, and you packed your belongings.

You said your goodbyes and took the elevator to the rooftop.

After settling into the helicopter, you took out your phone and stared at the locked screen.

You had not looked at your notifications since Monday night, or rather, Tuesday morning, after reading Roseanne’s message.

You could tell you had upset her, and you were not proud of that.

What hurt your pride the most was that she had been right: if you had something to tell her, you should tell her directly.

You were not used to admitting you were wrong; you usually weren’t.

But you cared about your blooming relationship with her, so you decided to swallow your pride and admit you were wrong.

You took a deep breath and unlocked your phone. You had many unread messages from different people. But you started with Roseanne’s.

There were four new messages.

The first one was from Tuesday morning.

**Message received from RP @ 12:44am:**

Ike told me you have to keep a low profile for your job, so I took the picture down

The second and third ones were from Tuesday afternoon.

**Message received from RP @ 1:26pm:**

I’m sorry for snapping at you

**Message received from RP @ 1:49pm:**

I do think you should message me directly if you have something to tell me though. I think we’re close enough for that. Don’t you?

And the last once was from earlier today.

**Message received from RP @ 9:44am:**

Are we okay?

You released a breath you had not realized you had been holding.

You felt relieved. She did not seem _too_ upset. And she still seem to care about you.

You replied to her messages.

**Message sent to RP @ 10:03am:**

You are right. I am sorry. Next time, I will message you directly. And yes, we are okay.

Feeling suddenly lighter than you had felt in days, you decided to send her another message.

**Message sent to RP @ 10:04am:**

Congratulations on making team captain again

**Message received from RP @ 10:04am:**

Thank you <3

Roseanne’s quick reply made you smile. And her heart emoji brought warmth to your cheeks. You locked your phone and leaned the back of your head on the seat, looking outside the window as the helicopter took off.

You were excited to see Roseanne again. But you were not looking forward to hearing about how close Ike and Roseanne had gotten over the past week. And you knew for a fact that Ike would be telling you all about it as soon as you saw him.

_That will be torture._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! Two chapters uploaded, booya!  
> I know there wasn’t much Chaelisa in this chapter and in the previous one, but I promise there will be many Chaelisa interactions in the next chapters. I wanted to get both of these chapters out of the way to move the story forward.  
> I’ll be posting chapter 12 next Saturday, Feb 27th 2021.  
> Actually, I’m down to bargain. If 2 people leave a comment saying they’d like for me to upload chapter 12 this Sunday (Feb 21st 2021), then I will. You have 24 hours. Let me know!  
> See you soon!


	12. Weeks Three & Four: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Pt. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Yesterday's update got two comments! And they made me really happy! So here is chapter 12 as promised!  
> A massive thank you to bparea and Jungkookishi for your comments :)  
> Enjoy!

As the helicopter neared Gaylord University on Sunday afternoon, you noticed there had been a major change on campus. There was a large rectangle of dirt ground bounded by a wire mesh fence. A dozen roofless buildings and piles of tires were scattered across the field. Suddenly, a group of five people came out simultaneously from both ends of the field and they either entered the buildings or hid behind the tires.

 _A paintball field...? Why?_ you wondered. Then you remembered Roseanne had told you that senior undergraduate students majoring in Business had to organize events throughout the year to graduate.

 _Paintball must be the first event_ , you concluded.

A few minutes later, the helicopter landed on the rooftop of Gaylord University, and you headed straight to your dorm.

You had a lot of catching up to do school-wise, having missed a whole week of lectures and readings.

As you stepped inside your dorm, you heard voices coming from the living room. You looked over and noticed that Jennie, Ike, Donghae, Jisoo, Roseanne, and Sofia were all hanging out in the living room, watching something on TV. You turned around and closed the door quietly, not wanting to distract them. You also did not feel like being social at right at this moment. You felt compelled to get to work immediately.

 _I have so much work to do_ , you groaned internally.

“Hey Lisa!” you heard Roseanne say as the door quietly clicked shut.

“Hi Lisa!” the others chanted in unison.

You looked in their direction and waved at them. “Hi, all.”

You noticed that Roseanne had turned her body 180 degrees on the couch, twisting her body in your direction.

 _That must not be comfortable_ , you thought. It made you smile for some reasons. You looked up from her upper body to her eyes. _Wow. They are sparkling_ , you noted. She was smiling widely at you and offered you a small wave. Your smile widened. Then you glanced at Ike who was sitting next to her. Your smile disappeared. You noticed he had his arm stretched out behind Roseanne on the couch. You looked away quickly and cleared your throat.

Your heart had pinched a little at the sight.

“How was work?” Roseanne asked brightly. You could not help but smile back at her.

“Everything that had to be done... has been done,” you answered her vaguely. Then you looked at Jennie, Ike, and Donghae. You nodded at them, and they nodded back.

“We’re watching the latest season of Queer Eye. Want to join us, Lisa?” Sofia inquired, and you shook your head ‘no.’

“I have a lot of work to do, but thanks for the invite,” you replied and brought your belongings to your bedroom.

You spent the rest of the day studying alone in your bedroom, hearing faint laughter coming from outside your room throughout the evening. And your heart jumped every time you recognized Roseanne's bright and breathy laugh.

 _This is not good._

***

From Monday to Thursday, you had the exact same routine; you would get up, put on sport clothes, work out, shower, go to class, study, eat, sleep, and repeat. Jennie, Ike, Donghae, and many others had messaged you, asking you if you wanted to study and hang out together, but you had repeatedly declined their offers. You felt more productive when you were on your own. In fact, you were almost up to date with your schoolwork by Thursday afternoon. And you were proud of yourself for that.

Other than seeing your classmates and Jisoo between classes, you had not socialized much since you had gotten back from Montreal.

Earlier during the week, you had told Jisoo that you needed to focus on your studying, and she respected that. She had actually been really kind to you, bringing you food on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night. You would hear a soft knock on your bedroom door around 10:00pm, and you would find a meal on the floor right outside your door. You would also find a neat handwritten note stuck to the plate.

‘I didn’t see you grab food… So I made you some – Jichu’

‘In case you haven’t eaten dinner yet – Chi-Choo’

‘Did you forget to eat dinner again Lisa? – Chu-rry <3’

Every note made you smile and gave you motivation to get back to work.

Even though you worked out, were well-rested, and cognitively stimulated, you still felt restless. Actually, you felt incredibly irritated and short-tempered. And you were not completely sure why. Probably the build-up of many different things.

What you _did_ know were the two main train of thoughts that had been playing in your head over and over again.

First, you had to talk to Jennie, Ike, and Donghae. You had to update them on Agent Radoulov’s death. _But that also means I have to talk to Ike, and I am not ready to hear about his blooming relationship with Roseanne just yet, whatever it is._

Second, you could not help but wonder... _Would Aleks still be alive if I had never left Montreal to go to college? Would my friend still be alive had I not been selfish and wished to live a normal life?_ This last train of thought was slowly driving you insane, and you knew it. But you could not stop thinking about it. 

You finally closed your MacBook Air and rubbed your eyes. You had spent _a lot_ of time in front of your computer screen over the last 72 hours.

 _Maybe a glass of water could help_ , you thought.

You left your room and heard Jisoo’s, Ike’s, and Roseanne’s voices in the dining area.

Suddenly, your irritation grew.

_Why are Ike and Roseanne here? If they want to spend time together, they can do so anywhere. Why does it have to be here?_

As you silently entered the kitchen, you heard Roseanne laugh and exclaim: “Oh my god, that’s amazing Ike!” You peeked over at them and noticed that Roseanne had her hand on Ike’s arm. Ike was smiling widely at her.

Your irritation peaked.

_Seriously?!_

Your entire body suddenly heated up.

You were angry.

_Maybe getting a glass of water was a bad idea after all._

You opened the fridge and heard Roseanne’s voice behind you. “Oh! Hey Lisa! How are you?”

“Been better,” you replied brusquely, grabbing the pitcher from the fridge. You cringed at the sound of your own voice. _That sounded harsh. More so than warranted_ , you acknowledged. Still, you did not apologize and proceeded to pour yourself a glass of water, your back turned to them.

“O-kay,” Roseanne replied after a second. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I don’t,” you answered sharply and turned around to face them.

Jisoo and Ike were staring at you, wide-eyed. Roseanne was frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Roseanne furrowed her brow even more. “Did I do something to upset you?”

You snapped. “You may not be used to this, but not everything is about you, Roseanne.”

That was a lie.

And you knew it.

Part of it was about her.

You watched her facial expression change from looking concerned to hurt.

_Fuck._

“Wow,” Roseanne whispered. “I was not expecting that.” She cleared her throat and brushed some hair off her shoulder. She looked upset.

A moment of silence passed. And the longer it dragged on, the more you felt like a jerk.

Roseanne spoke up after a while. “Well, I’m here if you want to talk about it,” she said flatly.

She glanced at Jisoo and Ike, shook her head, and started typing on her computer. Jisoo and Ike seemed to get back to work as well. You kept staring at Roseanne. She looked hurt _and_ pissed.

_Come on, Lalisa. Don't be a jerk._

You sighed.

_I might as well be honest with her. Partly._

“Actually, no, I am not okay,” you said firmly, brow furrowed. You noticed that Roseanne had stopped typing on the keyboard, but she kept her eyes on her computer screen. Jisoo and Ike were both staring at you. “The reason I had to go back to Montreal is because a colleague of mine… an old friend of mine... passed away,” you told them, looking down. It felt like there was a lump in your throat. You tried to clear your throat. You looked back up and made eye contact with Roseanne. “I… have not yet grieved his death. I don't know how to…" you whispered. You cleared your throat once more and spoke louder. "I am dealing with a lot right now. But that does not justify snapping at you. I am sorry, Roseanne.”

Roseanne immediately stood up and hugged you tightly. “Thank you for telling me. And I’m sorry for your loss," she whispered in our ear.

You sighed in relief and let yourself return the embrace.

You eventually looked over her shoulder and caught Ike staring at you. He was smiling sympathetically at you.

 _This is messed up_ , you thought.

You were both into the same girl.

_There is no way in hell this is going to end well._

However, it _did_ feel good to tell them about your loss. And to receive their condolences and support.

Roseanne pulled away a few seconds later and squeezed your hands gently. “I have an idea! Let’s have a girls’ night tomorrow. And we can watch paintball games on Saturday with everyone. How does that sound?” Roseanne looked at you brightly. You smiled and nodded at her. She did a small victory dance and tapped your shoulder excitedly.

Your smile widened, and you glanced at Jisoo. She was staring at you and tapping her chin, brow furrowed ever so slightly. She glanced between you, Roseanne, and Ike suspiciously. Then something seemed to click, and she looked at you knowingly, smirking.

You knew right away that Jisoo had read you like an open book.

_There is no fooling her now. This will be interesting_ , you thought. 

***

On Friday afternoon, Jisoo and you set up the living room for the girls’ night. The two couches were covered in fluffy cushions and warm blankets. Four buckets of popcorn were made. Multicoloured lights were hanging on the walls, giving the room a really cozy vibe. Finally, the movie ‘Frozen II’ was set up on the tv, ready to play.

To determine whether you would be watching ‘Frozen,’ Roseanne’s pick, or ‘Frozen II,’ Jisoo’s pick, Roseanne and Jisoo had played a best-of-three rock-paper-scissors game. It would be an understatement to say that Jisoo had destroyed Roseanne. After losing, Roseanne whined and complained, but Jisoo just shrugged and told you that “Rosé always chooses paper. Always.” You recalled that Roseanne _had_ indeed chosen paper three times in a row, leading to an easy win for Jisoo.

Around 7:00pm, Jennie and Roseanne came over and showed their appreciation for the set up. Jisoo then quickly laced her arm with Jennie’s, and they sat on one of the couches, sharing a blanket. They were both giggling and smiling widely at one another.

Roseanne looked at you and wiggled her eyebrows. “I guess we’ll be couch buddies tonight,” she said teasingly, making you smile.

“I guess so,” you replied.

She grabbed your hand and led you to the other couch. You tucked yourselves under a blanket and, once you were all settled in, Jisoo pressed play.

***

As a soft piano melody started playing, Roseanne clapped her hands and bounced on the couch excitedly. She then nodded her head along with the melody and soon began singing ‘Into the Unknown’ with the main character. You were taken aback by her voice. It was breathy, on pitch, and just overall beautiful. You found yourself admiring her as she sang passionately. She also improvised a choreography as she did so.

 _Wow… She is so,_ so _beautiful._ You were stunned.

Halfway through the song, Roseanne peeked at you and stopped singing. She threw her body backwards, laughing. “Gosh, this is so embarrassing,” she said as she curled onto your side and hid her face in the crook of your neck.

You inhaled sharply and stiffened for half a second.

Your cheeks started burning.

And your body became very warm.

Under the blanket, you felt Roseanne drag a hand along your forearm down to your hand and clasp your hands together.

She then readjusted her head on your shoulder, and you leaned your head on top of hers. You inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her shampoo, of her perfume, of _Roseanne_ , and sighed contently.

 _She smells_ so _good._

After the thought crossed your mind, you cleared your throat and turned your head in the opposite direction from her, cheeks burning.

 _Control yourself, Lalisa_ , you chastised yourself.

You felt an unusual sensation in your stomach.

 _…butterflies? That is_ not _good._

“Yah, Lalisa! Are you ignoring me?!” Jisoo shouted at you. You snapped your head in Jisoo's direction over Roseanne’s head. She smirked at you. _Busted._ “I asked if you were enjoying the movie thus far?”

“Oh, um, ye-, it’s groot,” you replied quickly.

The three other girls burst out laughing.

You could tell your face had turned into an even darker shade of red. You meant to say ‘good’ and ‘great’ at the same time.

 _Damn it... Groot… Come on, Lalisa_ , you groaned internally.

You could feel Roseanne’s body jerk against yours as she laughed, still pressed to your side.

 _Ugh, she feels so good_ , you thought. You involuntarily squeezed her hand under the blanket.

“What was tha-t,” Jennie asked in a teasing tone, giggling.

You wanted to hide yourself.

You then heard Jisoo say “Your English is a pity” as she went back to watching the movie.

Roseanne’s breath hit your neck as she whispered in your ear, giving you goosebumps. “Don’t take it personally. She just loves using that expression… especially on her close friends. If anything, it means she likes you.” She chuckled lightly, making you shiver ever so slightly.

_What are you doing to me, Roseanne?_

You looked down at her and noticed she was eye-smiling at you.

Your heart was pounding in your chest. You could literally feel your heartbeat throughout your body.

You nodded and looked back at the screen, feeling slightly breathless. You then felt Roseanne snuggle even closer to you, and you spent the rest of the movie with your arms and fingers intertwined with hers under the blanket.

***

As the movie credits rolled, Jisoo shouted “Oh my god! For Halloween, we should dress up like the Frozen characters! Shotgun Elsa!”

“Yah!” Roseanne yelled. “I wanted to be Elsa!” she pouted and Jisoo mocked her playfully. “Okay fine! I’ll be Anna!” Then Roseanne looked at you. “And you could be my Olaf,” she told you, smiling widely. You smiled back at her and nodded.

“Wait,” Jennie intervened. “What does that leave me?”

Jisoo snorted. “Kristoff or Sven,” she answered, and Jennie groaned.

"Sven it is,” Jennie said.

After the movie ended, you caught yourself gazing at Roseanne as the girls talked about volleyball practice. Throughout the night, she had stayed pressed against your side and held your hand. At some point, she excused herself to go to the bathroom, but when she came back, she sat back down next to you and snuggled even closer to you than before.

It made you happy. _She_ made you happy.

However, you knew that Roseanne was naturally physically affectionate with her friends. Even though you wanted to feel special for basically cuddling with her all night, you had seen Roseanne and Jisoo be similarly affectionate with each other countless times in the past.

_It probably does not mean anything to Roseanne… but it means something to me, and I will enjoy it for the time being._

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter!  
> Chapter 13 will be uploaded next Saturday Feb 27th 2021.  
> Thank you for reading!  
> See you then!


	13. Weeks Three & Four: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Pt. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,  
> Here is chapter 13 as promised.  
> Enjoy!

_Today is Saturday, a.k.a. paintball day._

Before Roseanne and Jennie left your dorm last night, you had agreed to meet up with the usual gang in the main entrance of Gaylord University at 1:00pm sharp to head out to the paintball field together.

Right now, you found yourself standing in front of your closet, wondering what to wear. The weather had gotten colder recently, being the first week of October, so you had to dress up warmly.

You eventually chose to wear a colorful Celine loose wool cardigan over a black turtleneck top and a high-rise pant.

Pleased with your choice of attire, you left your bedroom and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. You were taking a sip when a sleepy Jisoo entered the kitchen, grumbling under her breath.

“Fucking Park Chaeyoung waking me up early on the weekend to watch people play with toy guns,” you heard her say.

You glanced at your phone.

It was 12:30pm.

“Who?” you asked her, sitting down at the kitchen table.

“Yah!” Jisoo jumped, hand on her chest. “You’ll give me a heart attack one of these days, Lisa. I swear,” she warned. She took a deep breath and opened the fridge. “I was talking about Chaeyoung.” 

“Chae-who?” you replied, clueless.

Jisoo looked over her shoulder at you, holding the fridge door open. She squinted at you. “Are you messing with me or...?”

“I am not,” you chuckled. You knew Jisoo tended to be grumpy and easily irritated right after getting out of bed. Usually, you would give her space in the morning, or in the early afternoon, or whenever she woke up, to avoid her wrath. But today was different; you both had plans with friends.

“Chaeyoung,” she stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever. You looked at her curiously and shook your head. “Rosé. That’s her Korean name. Chaeyoung-ah.”

“Chaeyoung-ah,” you repeated after Jisoo.

She grinned, “Yes, exactly like that.” Then, she grabbed a water bottle and left the kitchen.

“We’re leaving in twenty, Lisa! Please be ready by then; I don’t want to be late!” she shouted from the hallway between the kitchen and the bedrooms.

You looked at yourself, confused.

 _You_ were ready to go. _She_ was the one still wearing pyjamas.

You then heard Jisoo’s evil laughter echo from the hallway to the kitchen.

You smiled, shaking your head. You did not always understand Jisoo. Or her sense of humor. But you still cared greatly about her.

Thirty minutes later, Jisoo was all dressed up, and you headed downstairs together.

When you arrived on the ground floor, you saw multiple groups of people gathered together, chatting animatedly with each other. As you walked closer to the main entrance of the building, you noticed that a group of girls had their phones out and were snapping pictures of someone, giggling amongst themselves. “Oh my god, Rosé looks so classy.” “I can’t with her.” “She’ll be the death of me.” “Do you think I should go say hi? Would that be weird?” you heard them fangirl. “Oh my god, is that Jisoo?” one of them said. As if on cue, they all turned their phones toward Jisoo and you, snapping pictures of both of you.

“You get used to it,” Jisoo told you. She looked around and waved at the girls.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Jisoo just waved at me!” one of them squealed. “Who’s that with her?” someone else asked with an attitude. You were about to glare at them when a unique voice caught your attention.

“Jisoo! Lisa!” you immediately recognized Roseanne’s breathy voice. You were quickly engulfed in a tight hug and released just as fast. Roseanne did the same with Jisoo. As she hugged Jisoo, you quickly looked Roseanne up and down. She was wearing white shoes, black skinny jeans, a white shirt, a grey blazer, and a purple scarf.

She looked really good. ‘Groot’ even.

“You girls are late!” Roseanne reprimanded, staring at you both and pouting angrily.

“Yah! Don’t blame me. Lisa was the one holding us back,” Jisoo threw her hands up as she threw you under the bus.

“Wha-?” you barely muttered.

“Let’s get going, shall we?” Jisoo said excitedly and skipped joyfully toward Jennie, Ike, Donghae, and Sofia waiting for you by the entrance.

Roseanne linked arms with you, and you both walked slowly toward the others.

“I was no-” you attempted to defend yourself.

“I know,” Roseanne chuckled. “Jisoo’s always late to everything, so don’t worry about it.” She gently bumped her forehead onto yours and looked you up and down.

Your face started heating up.

She looked you in the eyes. “You can really pull off any look, can’t you?” she rhetorically asked you as she tugged at the sleeve of your cardigan.

“Thank you. And you… are way overdressed to go watch paintball games,” you told her in a serious tone. She looked confused, and, when you could no longer hold back your smile, she whined and hit your arm playfully.

“Yah! Lalisa! I just complimented you, and you go ahead and do me like that?!”

“Okay, okay, okay. I apologize… Chaeyoung-ah,” you said. You bit the inside of your cheeks to keep yourself from smiling.

“Say what now?” she looked at you, brow furrowed. “How do you know my Korean name?” You looked away and shrugged, smirking. “Kim fucking Jisoo,” Roseanne muttered under her breath.

***

Half an hour later, you were all seated in the bleachers, facing the paintball field. The bleachers surrounding the field were half full, with students chatting amongst themselves. You found yourself sitting between Roseanne and Jennie, arm still linked with Roseanne’s. You were happy she had not let go of you.

A few moments later, two groups of ten players entered the field, hiding and communicating with each other through sign language. You watched attentively as the game unfolded.

After fifteen minutes, Jennie leaned onto you and whispered in your ear, “My money’s on the black team.”

You snorted. The players looked like amateurs. Both teams also seemed to have adopted the same strategy, meaning that either team could win this game.

You smirked. “Funny. You’re on. The pink team will win,” you entertained the wager.

Jennie smirked back. “Want to bet on it?” You nodded. “If I win, I get to be Olaf for Halloween, and you have to dress up as Sven.”

You chuckled. “And if I win?”

“You get to be Olaf… and I’ll dress up as Kristoff,” she answered.

Your smirk widened. You offered her your hand, “Deal.”

You shook hands on it and watched the game even more intently than before. You were suddenly very invested in the pink team’s victory.

Ten minutes later, Jennie groaned next to you.

You had won.

“Worry not. You will look great as Kristoff,” you told Jennie, patting her back sympathetically, and she groaned louder, throwing her head back. You chuckled in response.

“What’s up?” you heard Roseanne say next to you.

You smiled at her. “Jennie has to dress up as Kristoff for Halloween,” you informed her.

She started laughing. “That’s amazing,” she clapped her hands and reached across your body to hold Jennie’s wrist compassionately. Roseanne looked back at you. “Would you like to play?” she asked, pointing toward the paintball field.

You scoffed. “They would be no match for me.” _Literally._

Roseanne snorted. “Yeah, right,” she rolled her eyes. “It’s okay to be scared, Lalisa,” she teased you, and she shivered as the wind blew. She hugged your arm tighter, and you put a hand on her thigh to warm her up.

_I would be scared, but not for me. For them, Roseanne._

The players left the field and a new game began.

This paintball event made you think back to your trainee days. More specifically, it reminded you of your last training session with Aleks, Sammy, and Agent Whittle before your final assignment at the FL9 Academy.

***

_You were seventeen back then._

_And oh so naïve._

_Aleks, Sammy, Agent Whittle, and you were all standing in the middle of a paintball field at midnight, sometime in the spring. The air was chilly, and the entire field was covered in darkness._

_“All right. You know the drill,” Agent Whittle said, giving you each a paintball gun. “You three against me. If you get hit in the chest or in the head, you’re eliminated. If you get hit elsewhere, you’re still in the game, but you have to act hurt as if you got shot by a real bullet. Out there, in the real world, people will shoot at you with actual bullets, not paintballs.” Aleks, Sammy, and you nodded at once. “And remember, if you_ think _you’ll fail, you_ will _fail. Now get into position. We begin in ten minutes.”_

_Agent Whittle turned around, and your teammates and you headed in the opposite direction._

_***_

_Seventy-two minutes later, you found yourselves back in the middle of field. Both Aleks and Sammy had paint stains on their chests. Agent Whittle had paint stains on his helmet. And you had none._

_Agent Whittle removed his helmet and glared at you. “I guess you_ are _ready for the final assignment,” he said through gritted teeth. “Best of luck to you all.” And with that, you were dismissed._

***

You snapped out of your thoughts when you felt a light nudge to your side. You noticed that Roseanne was looking at you with her brow furrowed. “You okay?” she asked. You could hear the concern in her voice. You took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yes, sorry,” you apologized.

She kept staring at you and seemed to hesitate, biting her lower lip. “Are you thinking about your… deceased friend?” she asked tentatively.

You nodded again and looked down. “Yeah. I am.”

Roseanne let go of your forearm and wrapped her arms around you, leaning her head on your shoulder. “I’m here if you want to talk about it,” she told you.

“Thank you,” you breathed out.

“Anytime.”

***

_Anytime now, the teacher was going to come in and tell you what the final assignment was. You were sitting in a classroom with the other trainees of your cohort, and you could feel the anticipation in the air. Everyone was quiet, including Erika who was usually talkative._

_Thinking of Erika, you looked over at her, and you shared a weak smile._

_You hated the feeling in the pit of your stomach. You were stressed. And scared._

_The teacher eventually entered the room, carrying a box in her hands. She dropped it onto her desk and sighed._

_She looked grimmer than usual. She was usually bright and full of energy, but she looked dull that day._

_“Hi all. As you know, the final assignment is approaching quickly,” she said tiredly. She put a hand on the box. “In this box are your burner phones. Each one of you will receive a bp by the end of class, and your bp will be essential to complete the assignment,” she informed you. “Later today, a name will be sent to your bp, and that person will be your last target as a trainee. You will have 48 hours to kill them. If you don’t, you will not graduate from the FL9 Academy.”_

48 hours is not a lot of time _, you noted._

_“What happens if we don’t graduate?” Aleks asked._

_The teacher’s body became tense. “You will know soon enough.”_

_***_

_Later that day, as you walked back to your dorm, your bp vibrated in your hand. You froze on the spot, took a deep breath, and looked at the name you were sent._

**_Message received from Unknown @ 9:01pm:_ **

_Erika Maynard_

_Your world shattered._

_You had to kill your roommate. And best friend._

***

A light tap on your shoulder brought you back to the present moment, and you turned around to look at your current roommate, Jisoo. “We’re going to Timmies. Want to come?” she asked. You nodded quietly, feeling somewhat foggy after that dark memory, and you looked down at Chaeyoung whose head was still on your shoulder.

You noticed that she had fallen asleep on you, arms holding you tight.

You smiled and gently nudged her head with yours. “Roseanne.” There was no response. “Yah, Chaeyoung-ah.” Still nothing. “Are you drooling on me, Chaeyoung-ah?!” you asked louder, and she jolted awake.

“I’m up!” she said. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms up.

You suddenly felt colder and shivered. You missed her warmth.

When she was done stretching, Roseanne looked at Jisoo and you with tired eyes. “What’s up?” She yawned.

“We are going to Tim Hortons, are you coming?” you asked her.

She perked up. “Oh yeah! Hot chocolate, yum,” she exclaimed, eye-smiling. 

You both stood up and walked back to the main building of Gaylord University with the others.

***

On the way to The Village, Roseanne left your side to walk next to Ike. You noted that they seemed to be getting along very well, chatting animatedly and laughing together.

You had genuinely never seen Ike be this happy before.

You watched as Roseanne linked arms with him, and you looked away.

You were starting to feel jealous again. And it was precisely for _that_ reason you had avoided hanging out with Ike since you had gotten back from Montreal. You did not want to hear about his feelings for Roseanne or about their blooming relationship… even if you knew that you would have to eventually.

Before you could dwell on this thought, someone linked arms with you, and you looked next to you. Jennie and you shared a smile and walked past a group of guys in paintball gear.

“Yo, I knew we were going to lose,” you heard one of them complain.

“Maybe if you didn’t have that attitude, we wouldn’t have lost,” another one reprimanded.

Jennie snorted and whispered in your ear, “If you _think_ you’ll fail…”

“…you _will_ fail,” you completed her sentence. You shared a knowing look and smiled.

In other words, if you did not believe in your ability to win, you were not going to give it your best, and the odds that you would fail would be higher.

A self-fulfilling prophecy.

That was one of the few things Agent Whittle had been right about. And it was one of the most valuable lessons that you had passed on to your team.

***

The evening flew by quickly in your friends’ company.

You were the first to call it a night, feeling exhausted, and you went back to your dorm.

Before going to bed, you looked at your bp, as you did every night, and noticed that one of them had an unread message.

You clicked on the message and read the name of your next victim.

**Message received from Unknown @ 12:01am:**

Roseanne Park/Park Chaeyoung

_Fuck no._

_Not again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Dun dun dunnn*  
> I hope you liked this chapter.  
> Chapter 14 will be uploaded next Saturday, March 6th 2021.  
> See you then!


	14. Weeks Five & Six: Values, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> Here's chapter 14!  
> Enjoy!

You were a mess the next morning.

As soon as you woke up on Sunday, you messaged your teammates to let them know to meet you at 9am in one of the conference rooms at Gaylord University.

You figured you would wait until the next morning to break them the news, letting them enjoy one more harmless evening with Roseanne.

“There is no _fucking_ way this is happening, Lisa!” Ike shouted angrily at you. “We are _not_ killing Rosé! This is _not_ happening!” he repeated, walking away from you.

Here you were, in the conference room with your teammates. You had just informed them that Roseanne was your next target. After hearing the news, Ike became agitated and restless. He started yelling at you, pacing around the room, and swearing under his breath. Jennie simply sat down at the conference table, looking utterly shocked. Donghae just looked dumbfounded, staring aimlessly into the distance.

“This is an order from the FL9 company, Ike,” you told him emotionlessly. “It has to be done,” you said matter-of-factly.

They all stared at you in disbelief.

 _I don’t want to do it either, guys,_ you thought to yourself. _But we have to do it. It is not a matter of desire but duty._

Ike appeared even more furious and approached you menacingly. “You have to be _fucking_ kidding me, Lisa! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

You neither budged nor blinked as he brought his face closer to yours, towering over you.

_This intimidating technique is not going to work, Ike._

“Believe me, Ike,” you sighed. “I would much rather _not_ have to kill her. But if we don’t do it, the FL9 company will just send another team and get the job done regardless,” you told them bluntly. It was the truth. “Not to mention that we would be in a lot of trouble with the company. And trust me, that is the last thing we want,” you warned them.

As their mentor, you had to teach them how to make difficult decisions. And this was the perfect opportunity to do it, no matter how much you hated it yourself.

Ike turned around and threw his arms up in the air. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “We can protect her if they send another team,” he suddenly suggested.

“They will kill us if we do,” Donghae said, looking paler by the minute.

“Donghae is right,” you concurred.

Ike punched the wall.

“Fuck!” he shouted. Then he spun around and glared at you. “Whatever _you_ decide to do is up to you, but I am _not_ doing it. And I _highly_ recommend you don’t try anything behind our backs, _Manoban_ ,” he spat in a threatening tone.

You stared at him dead in the eye and raised your chin.

He was defying your authority.

And you were _not_ going to tolerate it.

You chuckled bitterly. “Ike, _you_ do not get to decide anything. _You_ are not in charge here. _I_ am. And this is bordering on insubordination. I would watch my mouth if I were you,” you growled at him. 

“Maybe we can ask the company for the documentation on her,” Jennie suddenly jumped in. “Doesn’t the company keep a record of all the FL9 targets and their crimes? If so, we can request that they send us everything they have on Rosé and see if this is legit,” she suggested thoughtfully.

“It’s not common practice,” Donghae added, “but yes, I do recall this is within our rights.”

You looked at them proudly.

“Great thinking, Jennie, Donghae. As a matter of fact, I sent them that request last night,” you informed them.

Of course, you had thought of that alternative too.

You noticed a glimmer of hope in Ike’s eyes. He chuckled. “Lisa… why didn’t you lead with that?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I figured this would be a great opportunity to gage how you would react in an emotionally-charged situation involving a conflict of interest. And I have to say that you have failed miserably, Ike. You let your emotions get the best of you and cloud your judgment. I _highly_ recommend that you work on that,” you advised him.

He lowered his head

You turned to Jennie and Donghae. “I have yet to hear back from the company. I will let you know when I do,” you told them. Then you cleared your throat awkwardly. _I do have to warn them though…_ You took a deep breath. “Just know that the FL9 company rarely, if _ever_ , makes mistakes. Chances are, we _will_ have to kill Roseanne. We just have a little more time to prepare ourselves mentally to do so. And I hope you will use that time wisely.” You stared at each one of them sympathetically, and you left the room.

 _What has to be done… has to be done_ , you thought.

You blinked the tears away on your way back to your dorm.

***

Thirty-six hours later, you still had not heard back from the FL9 company.

It was Monday evening and Jisoo offered to cook dinner for the both of you. You gladly accepted the offer and studied at the kitchen table while she made dinner.

After a few minutes, you heard a smartphone notification sound coming from the kitchen followed by Jisoo’s voice, “Hey Lisa, is it okay if Rosie comes over for dinner tonight?”

Your heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name.

_Fuck._

Over the past thirty-six hours, you had done everything you could to avoid Chaeyoung. You did not want to see her, enjoy her company, and have to put an end to her life shortly after.

That made no sense to you.

“Sure,” you replied casually.

“Awesome!” Jisoo replied and resumed her cooking.

Five minutes later, the target entered your dorm. “Hey, ladies,” Roseanne said sweetly, her voice smooth like honey. You got goosebumps at the sound of her voice. “Long time no see, Lisa,” she said as she sat down in front of you, eye-smiling at you. She removed her backpack from her shoulders and dropped it onto the table.

“Indeed, Chaeyoung-ah,” you replied, smirking. You glanced up at her and watched her whine.

“Ya-h!” Roseanne half-frowned, half-smiled. “This is all your fault, Jisoo!”

You heard Jisoo cackle with laughter in the kitchen. “Guilty!” Jisoo singsonged happily.

“When will the food be ready, Jichu?” Roseanne asked.

“Half hour, give or take,” Jisoo answered. You then heard Roseanne mutter “Perfect” as she took out her laptop from her bag.

Over the past few weeks, you had noticed that studying with Roseanne had become increasingly difficult for you. You just wanted to watch her while she studied; she just looked so adorable. Whenever she struggled with an assignment, she would furrow her brow and scrunch up her nose. She would often sigh and whine as well, which made it all the more endearing. However, you liked it best when she completed an assignment; her eyes would sparkle and she would smile brightly, lighting up the room.

You watched Roseanne lick her lips and bring her face closer to her computer screen, immersed in her work.

You sighed.

You could not help but wonder: why is she an FL9 target? What did she do to deserve death?

Is she a serial murderer? A human trafficker? A drug lord or… drug lady? A criminal mastermind?

 _What did you do, Chaeyoung-ah, to end up in this situation?_ you asked yourself, cocking your head to the side as you stared at her, perplexed.

Suddenly, Roseanne looked up at you and raised an eyebrow. “What?” she asked, her lips stretching into a small smile.

That caught you off guard.

You sat up straighter.

“What… what?” you replied, trying to play it cool.

She snorted and smiled widely at you. “You’re staring at me,” she stated matter-of-factly. “There must be a reason,” she concluded, rolling her eyes and smirking.

 _She is_ so _beautiful._

“I am… trying to figure you out, Chaeyoung,” you told her honestly.

She chuckled and lowered her head. “I’m an open book, Lisa,” she looked up at you and smiled shyly.

“I’m sure there is more than meets the eye,” you replied, smiling back at her. You maintained eye-contact for a few seconds, smiling at each other.

“Just fuck already,” Jisoo said exasperatedly as she walked into the dining area. You jumped at Jisoo's voice, snapping out of your trance-like state.

“Jisoo!” Roseanne chastised her, wide-eyed and mouth agape.

You could feel yourself blush, and you put your schoolwork away as Jisoo served the food.

Your roommate put a fourth plate of pasta on the table, and you looked at her curiously.

_Jisoo, Roseanne, and me. That makes three. Not four._

You could tell Jisoo was avoiding looking at you, and you soon heard a knock on the door.

Roseanne smirked, glancing at Jisoo. “Hm, but who could this be?!” she exclaimed in a playful tone, and Jisoo replied “Shut up” as Jennie stepped inside the dorm. “Hi, Jennie,” Roseanne said before she even turned around to face her. _How did she know it was Jennie?_ you wondered.

“Hey, girls,” Jennie said as she sat down next to you. “Yum, this looks amazing, Jisoo!”

“Why thank you, Jennie,” Jisoo replied sheepishly. _Is Jisoo blushing?_ “Now, dig in before it gets cold!” Jisoo exclaimed, and you all started eating eagerly.

***

Dinner went by smoothly. You made small talk, caught up with one another, and listened as Roseanne and Jisoo gossiped about their celebrity friends.

At some point during the evening, Jisoo asked for Roseanne’s opinion on her new clothes, and the girls disappeared in your roommate’s bedroom.

As soon as they were out of earshot, you spoke up. “Checking up on me, aren’t we Jennie?” you asked her.

She cleared her throat and wiped her mouth. “Would you be offended if the answer was ‘yes?’” Jennie asked you back.

You turned your body to face her. “It depends,” you replied. “What are your motives?”

“Ike, Donghae, and I know that you value duty and work ethic. We also know that you care about us. Therefore, it _has_ crossed our minds that you may want to get the job done without telling any of us beforehand.”

“Now, why would I go behind your backs, Jennie?” you asked her, crossing your arms. You were a little offended. You _did_ value duty but loyalty came first. And you were loyal to your teammates.

“Well, if you were to take care of the target by yourself, Ike, Donghae, and I wouldn’t have to be involved and live with that for the rest of our lives. And… more importantly, we wouldn’t be able to intervene and stop you,” she answered, looking away. “I’m happy to see that Roseanne is doing well though,” she said in a lighter tone.

“I would never go behind your backs like that,” you informed her.

“Can you promise that?” she asked you, looking straight into your eyes.

You maintain eye-contact as you answered her. “I promise.”

You watched Jennie as she released a heavy sigh, looking relieved. “That’s good,” she whispered. She sighed again. “This is a mess, isn’t it?” Jennie chuckled dryly. “I never thought our two worlds would collide this way.”

You agreed with her.

_This is fucked up._

***

On Tuesday, you still had not heard back from the FL9 company, and you were feeling more restless by the hour. The anticipation was eating at you. You could not stop creating scenarios in your head and thinking about the worst: that you would have to kill Chaeyoung.

The anticipation had been disturbing your sleep lately. At night, you would be physically tired, but you would not be able to fall asleep for the life of you; your mind was wide awake and going a mile a minute.

After your morning lecture on Tuesday, you headed back to your dorm and bumped into Jisoo as she left for her class.

You exchanged a few words as you walked past each other.

“Oh! And I invited Roseanne over earlier. I hope you don’t mind!” Jisoo shouted over her shoulder as she speed-walked to the elevator.

Your heartbeat picked up, and you took a few deep breaths to slow down your heart rate.

Once you were calmer, you opened the door and, surely enough, Roseanne was sitting at the kitchen table, studying. She looked up as you stepped in and waved at you. “Hey, Lisa.”

“Hey, Roseanne,” you greeted her back. She groaned.

“Why do you insist on calling me Roseanne _or_ Chaeyoung?” she asked, throwing her head back. “Usually, people only call me either of those names when they’re mad at me. I’m scarred and traumatized from it,” she pouted.

You chuckled and thought about it as you walked up to the kitchen table. “I like your names. They’re beautiful,” you told her honestly. “Like you.”

She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Oh. Well… then… thank you.” You smiled back at her and started doing your readings.

You had been studying together for an hour when Roseanne broke the silence. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

You considered it for a second. Then you looked at your planner... “I can’t; I still have a lot of work to do. But I can come with you in the living room if you want,” you suggested.

She beamed. “That would be great.”

Once in the living room, Roseanne laid down on one of the sofas, and you sat on the other one. She put on the TV show ‘Friends’ on Netflix and, one episode later, she was fast asleep on the couch.

As the next episode began, you stopped studying for school and started studying Roseanne for work.

_I know I made a promise to Jennie, but…_

Now would be the perfect time to kill your target. She was defenseless, sleeping on the couch, and no one else was around. You could easily get the job done and not get caught. And Jennie, Ike, and Donghae would not be able to stop you.

You sighed silently and slowly put your laptop next to you on the sofa.

You then walked quietly up to Roseanne.

She seemed so peaceful, sleeping with her mouth slightly ajar, a few strands of hair on her neck.

_I really don’t want to do this, Chaeyoung..._

You raised a hand and brought it closer to her neck.

_...but what must be done, must be done._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> I'm not done writing chapter 15 yet (midterm season is real, and it's been kicking my ass)... Therefore, the next update will be either on next Saturday, March 13th 2021, or on the one after, March 20th 2021.  
> See you soon (hopefully)!


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